A Cruel, Undead World
by JenInTheDark
Summary: Follow sixteen different characters to what hopefully is survival in a new way; by inserting your own character to join them! Details and character template inside. This is a story with OC characters, and will not focus on main RE characters, but it will make references to events and some characters will make appearances. R&R to help make the story better, suggestions are welcome.
1. Prologue: The Explanation

_A Cruel, Undead World_

Prologue

The Explanation

You walk in to the DMV and look around. A friendly woman behind the desk greets you with a smile and a good morning.

"How can I help you today?"

You explain your situation. She nods.

"I see, so you need your Tervu, Washington ID?" she doesn't wait for your confirmation and instead plays with a small machine to her left. "Smile in 3, 2, 1, smile!"

There was a flash of light, and you blink twice, barely smiling in time if at all.

"You look great, now I just need some more information about you to put on your card!"

**IMPORTANT UPDATE 4/29/2014: I am NOT accepting anymore new characters! If you are still interested in being part of the story, I am planning a sequel, so you will just have to wait for that. I've decided to keep up the character sign-up sheet, mostly because it'd be too much work to go through and change this entire prologue. And I like memories and things to look back on. Sorry for the inconvenience.**

* * *

**A/N: Hello! My Name is Jane, but I am also called Jen or Jenny! Welcome to **_**A Cruel, Undead World**_**! This will be my first story on here ever: yay! Criticism is always welcome, and so is praise, I don't take anything personally but if it is overly mean I can't guarantee I'll listen! **

**So in this story you have the option to either read OR actually be a part in the story. You can fill in the information below for ONE character and he or she will be inserted into the story! THESE CHARACTERS MUST BE YOUR OWN CREATION. I will warn you ahead of time though, there IS a chance they can either die or become a zombie, so keep that in mind! If the character you put in dies you may put in ONE more character, if you wish. I thought this would be a fun idea to keep people interested and feel like they have an influence. The more into the series I get to and you try to add in new characters, the higher likelihood they will be killed off. If you feel I take your character and completely butcher them, please don't yell at me because I will try my best to follow your character through, and simply tell me the changes you wish. However, I can't keep going back to fix up minor character issues, so once a chapter is written and published, unless there is a major problem it will NOT be taken back for editing. **

**If you are interested, please follow the template below. Stars or * marks means it is necessary for the story, otherwise feel free to fill in as much or as little as you like, but remember that the more information you put in the better I can use your character. I won't change anything you put in here, but if there is something absent and I feel it will help the progression of the story, by filling this out you are giving me permission to add in what I feel necessary.**

*Full Name:

Nicknames:

*Gender:

*Birthdate and Age:

Birthplace:

*Height and Weight:

*Hair Color:

*Eye Color:

Noticeable Features:

Clothing Description:

*Personality:

Family Background:

Biography:

Relations with Current Characters: This is optional; if you wish to have your character already know someone in the story, you MUST speak to them about it first and they must agree. I WILL be checking up on this every time. If you don't know who the character belongs too, simply ask me and I will tell you. If they are one of mine, I will tell you if the relation is okay.

**Equipment: Can be nothing, but please say so

**Crowd or Aid: Crowd control are close up, high damage inflicting. Aid doesn't use firearms much and stick mostly to melee but can carry more supplies and give first aid when needed. **(Note: I have taken away sniper for now due to so many)**

**Current Location: Eileen Hill Hospital, Northern Tervu House Association (you may have your own house here), Washington Whales School of K-12, Breezy Villa Apartments, or Tervu Central Mall.

**Current Situation: What you wish to be doing before found. This may or may not be changed due to plot conflictions.

**A couple more important details: **

**I will post new chapters every Friday (hopefully). New character cut offs is every Monday, so after Monday 11:59 P.M, characters received will have to be put in the next week addition. **

**The storyline covers four teams of two (initially) of my own characters. All new characters are introduced the week they are added but as for after introductions it's all up to what happens.**

**Hope you all have as much fun as I do!**

**Update 3/15/13: I have updated this for the next few chapters to come, please take heed to these changes! If you already have a character, you have the option to resubmit your character with more updated information. Thank you.**


	2. Chapter 1: Infection in Tervu

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 1 ~

Infection in Tervu

Even seeing the fate of those affected by the disaster of Raccoon City and the outbreaks in China, Africa, the Middle East, and even here at home, no one would think something like this would happen again. Whatever deed we had done to deserve it surely was paid off. The companies behind the bioterrorist attacks were taken down, so how could it happen again?

Tervu, Washington was a very large city, yet almost unheard of to those who have never gone there. The city was the perfect place to restart your life, draw a blank page, and that is what many people did. To make it easier on the governors, they split power into five areas. The North, the East, the South, the West, and Central.

Starting in the absolute middle of the city was a not town hall by any means, but a mall. The Tervu Central Mall was vast, and was always full of people—even on holidays. The parking lot surrounded the entire perimeter of the mall, yet people still had trouble finding parking places.

So security in this parking lot was not the best, and they have had trouble in the past before with robberies and carjacking. Nothing quite like what would occur.

A white van was sitting in the parking lot; it looked like a business van with no windows but curiously no logos either. The van may have attracted a wandering eye but wasn't interesting enough for a double take. Once the van exploded though, people found too late it was not innocent and instead a deadly weapon, even a deadlier weapon after the initial blast.

The blast came from seemingly nowhere, killing about ten people around it as they were engulfed by flames. While the blast was not close enough to reach the massive building, a strange cloud appeared like a creeping fog from the place of destruction. Surrounding people took no heed to the smoke as they tried to find and aid those who may have been injured in the blast.

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 00:00:00

00:00:01

00:00:02

Inside, two girls were roaming around when the explosion happened, as were many people. For a split second, the entire mall stood still while everyone listened to the sound from outside. Some continued to do their business, others rushed towards the nearest window to see what might have happened.

"That was weird…" the taller of the two girls stated. The other nodded in agreement. They were both young but there was an obvious age gap between the two. The shorter one was Maja, a young teen with light brown hair and shocking blue eyes, who had the body of an athlete. She shrugged and started to continue walking, but shouts of astonishment and grief made them both stop and look back.

"What is going on?" Maja muttered, obviously irritated at the disturbance.

"There's been an explosion!" "What happened? Did someone's car spring a leak?" "This was no accident!" "It was a bomb!"

Overhearing scattered dialogue from panicked strangers, this peaked Maja's interest.

"A bomb huh? I've never seen something like that before! Come on Jodie let's go have a look!" she begins pulling her companion with her. Jodie blinks and her green eyes widen.

"No, Miss Vlašic! I don't think that's a good idea at all!" her voice was higher than usual and obviously scared, trying to pull the girl she babysat back from the commotion.

"Oh don't be such a wussy! It's probably just some prank!" she laughed at her, thinking to herself that if she didn't like her she would have told her parents to fire her already. Knowing getting through to the child's head was pointless, she let the teenager drag her through the crowd and they tried to squeeze pass to see the window.

Finally reaching the huge glass pane in the food court, Jodie was the first to see the damage. There was a small crater where the explosion came from, and on the rims of the crater were toppled cars from being thrown out. Small car fires had erupted from some of the more damaged vehicles, and handfuls of people were either trying to get away from the mess or towards heavily wounded people. The air was thick with a strangely colored smoke, one not common to most explosions. It swallowed whatever it came in contact with, obscuring the view of the scene quickly. Inside the mall became deathly quiet as people watched the smoke spread and come closer to the building.

"_Something's not right…" _Jodie thought to herself, squinting to try to see past the strange gas.

"Someone's coming out of the cloud!" an older child, probably around the age of ten or eleven, pointed out. It didn't take long to spot the person, as they were the only one emerging. They watched from above as someone who clearly knew them walked towards them. No one observing from the food court could hear the exchanged words, but the man appeared to have said something to offend the woman walking towards him, seeing as she stopped in her tracks upon getting closer. She doesn't move but he comes closer to her. Seemingly scared of him, she tried to back away, but in a split second the man had closed the gap between them and before anyone could believe their eyes, he was on top of her with his mouth tearing up chunks of her skin.

There was a short pause before anyone realized what was going on and the screaming began. People ran away from the windows and towards the staircases and elevators. Maja still stood aghast before Jodie grabbed her by the arm and yanked her away. In shock, she didn't say a word of objection. Before they could reach the elevator, it had already left with another group around it waiting impatiently. Not willing to wait, Jodie pulled them to the staircase where more people were trying to escape. Trying so hard to get away, many were being pushed off the railings and falling two flights.

"What do we do?!" Maja cried, near tears in fear. Jodie doesn't say anything, but looks around frantically, searching for a way out. All of a sudden, the hems of their tank tops are pulled backwards and they nearly trip. At first, Maja fights against this new entity that was pulling her and Jodie around, but when it became apparent his intent was not to hurt them she stopped.

"Where are you taking us?" Jodie asked the man that was pulling them effortlessly. He waited to answer until they had turned into the nearest, abandoned food court kitchen. They started to hear screams.

"Somewhere to hide," he explained shortly, and stopped once they were in the employee restrooms and slammed the door behind them, shutting out the shouts and leaving them in the complete dark.

* * *

A panicked mother left the scene of destruction with her son strapped in the seat of the car next to her, the five year old nodding off to sleep with bleeding bite marks on his shoulder.

"It's okay Bobby, it'll be okay! Mommy's going to get you to the hospital!" she tried to comfort him, but he didn't respond. She started the car and backed up so violently that if someone were behind her it would have killed them instantly. Losing no time, she drove down the parking lot lane and towards the main exit, but found it was packed with people. Worried for her baby, she drove off the lane and through the patch of grass and flower bushes into the road and made her way.

As if just to make her matters worse, a car crash had recently happened on the path to the hospital, most likely caused from people trying to get away as well. Grunting, she turned off again into a neighborhood. This neighborhood is just like any other neighborhood, but to the mother it seemed like a maze to her frantic mind and she started screaming profanities as every path she took just lead to another string of roads, none of which seemed to lead back to the main road.

What she didn't realize was she had driven so far that she was no longer in the central part of Tervu, but north. She was so fixed with finding a main road, she bypassed many smaller side roads that would have taken her directly the hospital, and instead ended up in the neighborhood controlled by the Northern Tervu House Association. Focused on the road, she didn't notice her son awake from his slumber, and as soon as he did he lunges for her. She screams as she gets bit, and tries to shove off her son while not crashing. Being as small as he was, he manages to slip away from the seatbelt and cling on to his mother, chewing on her neck as she struggles to escape. The car crashes, just barely missing another car.

In the other car was a married couple coming home from grocery shopping, who just had to slam on their breaks to avoid a head on collision.

"What the hell?!" the husband exclaims. His first reaction is anger, then turns to his wife and checks her; she is also angry.

"Stupid drunk-ass drivers! Who drinks this early anyway?! It's only noon!" she rants, then sighs. "We're just lucky the damned airbags didn't inflate..."

The husband didn't respond. She glares at him and then follows his gaze through the rearview mirror, and sees that the car had flipped, and now lay upside down. Without saying anything, the man unbuckles and opens the door, climbing out and begins jogging towards the scene. The middle-aged woman still in the car curses and follows his lead.

When they reach the car, it is eerily silent, with no sound of struggling inside. It is also dark, but they could clearly see blood prints against the window on the passenger side.

"They might be passed out…Fiona, grab the crowbar in the trunk!" he ordered, and she nodded, running back to their car to grab it. She returned and handed him the crowbar, and he sticks it in the passenger car door and pries it open. Once open, he gets down on his hands and knees and peers inside. What he saw was a gruesome sight. Blood covered every surface, and a woman's mangled body can be seen.

"What do you see?" Fiona inquires, trying to see past him without getting on the ground as well.

"The driver…she looks like she's been…eaten…or something…" he tells her, looking at her. He sees his wife's eyes widen and open her mouth, about to scream. He turns around to see a small boy quickly crawling towards him with a blood covered mouth and milky white eyes. He falls backwards with a loud, startled gasp and the boy grabs onto his leg.

Before the boy's waist left the inside of the car, his head was impaled by a blade. Shocked, the man looked up to see a woman slightly taller than his wife, with dark dirty blond hair and mysterious gray eyes. The boy's face falls against the pavement and he didn't move again. The couple were both breathing heavily, still unable to move. The woman straightened and looked at the two.

"Listen, if this is what I think it is, all of us are in danger. I can help you both, including any of the neighbors willing to listen. I have a shelter at my house for this kind of event, it can sustain us for four days without leaving. Please come with me." She held out her hand to the man still sprawled on the ground and without a moment's hesitation he took it, and she helped him up.

"Wait a second—who are you?" the wife spluttered out. The young lady who saved them had already started leading back to her home, and because the husband had instantly followed, it left the wife no choice but to follow too.

**A/N: Decided to give you guys something a little early, but don't think this will be a regular thing! Hope you like! R&R**


	3. Chapter 2: Run, Hide, or Die

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 2 ~

Run, Hide, or Die

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 00:27:36.

With her red hair framing her starting-to-wrinkle face, the wife's green narrowed eyes darted to every corner of the girl's house. Though she'd never admit it, the house was beautiful-or so she could see from the living room and dining room combo. It was definitely of a modern scheme, the sofa and matching chairs standing on skinny wooden legs with big, red, leather cushions. The floor was a step down and covered with wooden panels that was made of the same material of the square-shaped coffee table. She could see evidence that this young lady had been interrupted with the commotion, for there was an open book sitting on the side of the coffee table that was threatening to slip off. They sat at the dining table that looked more like a double-sided bar with three white, tall chairs on each side. The girl sat on the opposite side of the couple and briefly introduced herself as Lana. The husband told her his name was Omar, and his wife reluctantly revealed her name to be Fiona.

"Don't get comfortable, we have much to do before the situation worsens," Lana told them. Scoffing, Fiona glared at the woman.

"So you bring us in here, and tell us not to get comfortable; I'm pretty sure that is the opposite of 'good house hospitality'."

"We don't have time for formalities, what you two witnessed is a very serious matter."

"What, exactly, is the situation—if you don't mind me asking?" Omar questioned. Lana took a deep breath and delved into the explanation.

"Do you two remember either watching or reading the events that took place in Lanshiang, China about a year ago?" The two sat there for a moment before Omar raised his hand and made a motion that he kind of did.

"Well, June of last year, there was a bioterrorism attack in China, and just before that there was one here in the United States—

"Wait, bioterrorism? Like attacks on the body? Wouldn't that just be terrorism?" Lana shook her head.

"No, it means that an infectious agent attacks the body and was administered by someone else; or otherwise, not procured naturally. The virus was named the C-Virus by a company called Neo-Umbrella, and when a person becomes infected, their minds are completely shot and they basically turn into wild animals that's only concern is food—but their new craving is human flesh."

"So they became zombies, basically?" Omar stated—Lana nodded. Fiona's face suddenly paled, and she ran through the nearest door, which lead through the kitchen. They could hear her throwing up and Omar stood up and asked his wife if she was okay. Fearing the worse, Lana stood up as well and slipped the combat knife, which was snuggly hidden in her boot, out. Omar glanced at the knife and his eyes widened, but then Fiona came back in wiping her face with a disheveled expression.

"We need to leave! I'm not going to stick around and wait to be eaten by some horrible monsters!" she whined. Lana dropped her arm with the knife down to her side as she looked at Fiona calmly.

"Unfortunately it is too late for that. We don't know how far this has already spread, and because of the last bioterrorist attacks, security has tightened; we would just be going to the edge of the city and back, wasting precious time and resources that could help save our lives when they start the rescue operations."

"Then what do we do?" Omar asked her, fear evident in his eyes as he gravitated towards his wife to help comfort her. Lana thought for a moment before answering.

"You two will take my car. I have provisions that will last a few days but I would rather have more now than wait for the situation to worsen. Go to the store and grab anything and everything you can, warning anybody who will listen if they don't already know."

"We have groceries in our car already…not much, only about a week's worth for two."

"I will grab it, give me your keys—" she was interrupted by Fiona, who became suddenly upset.

"Wait a minute, how do we know all of this isn't a lie for you to try and rob us?!" Lana sighed, annoyed, and shook her head.

"Think what you want but I'm trying to help you, and we don't have time for accusations. Are you really going to risk me being wrong, and go out on your own unprepared?" Fiona didn't respond to this, and taking it as a sign of confirmation, Lana nodded and put her hand out for the keys. Omar hesitated a moment but handed them over, and in turn Lana gave them her keys.

"While you both are gone I will go around the neighbor and warn as many people as I can," the two were about to leave, Fiona pouting slightly, when Lana called to them and made them turn. "Be careful."

* * *

"I feel like we've been climbing for hours!" Maja complained. It was very dark, nothing but a small lantern very high above them shone light in this vertical tunnel. Under a trapdoor in the restroom of the food court restaurant was a small tunnel leading underground by ladder. The man, who called himself Michael, had worked here not too long ago and claimed the owner was scared of a similar event happening and had this installed.

"Well, we were already two floors up and this leads pass the basement to an escape route to the farther side of the parking lot. As a worker, you were forced to park in the general area of the exit. My car isn't too far away from where we will surface, and I can take us out of this God forsaken town."

"What was going on with those people?" Jodie asked quietly, feeling very nervous and trying to focus on keeping one foot on a step at all times.

"If what all happened in those other countries like China and Africa was actually true and not some crack-pot's imagination, I'd say those people were turned into some sort of zombie."

"Wait, so like an actual zombie? Like in the video games zombie?" Maja clarified. Michael nodded, forgetting she couldn't see him and after realizing it he vocalizes his answer.

"The car that exploded in the parking lot…was that the cause?" Jodie wondered aloud.

"If I were to take a gander I'd say it was the gas that came from the explosion. Which means once we get outside, try to hold your breath for as long as possible."

"Like O-M-G, you're an idiot if you think that would actually work!" Maja exclaimed angrily. He looked up and glared at the young girl a few steps above him, forgetting she was wearing a skirt. He averted his eyes, blushing furiously. After a couple minutes of silence, Michael took a minute to kick the wall beside him, causing a couple tiny pieces of gravel to fall, and it wasn't long before he could hear them land on the ground.

"We're almost there, then it's just a short walk up a hill back to the surface," Michael informed them. Once they were on the ground, they took haste and ran as fast as they could up the hill. Maja was panting, falling behind because of her high-heeled boots.

"My feet are killing me!" she complained. Jodie stopped for a moment and advised her to take her boots off. Maja refused. "No way! This ground is nothing but dirt, I'll get my feet dirty!"

"Then quit complaining and keep up…" Michael said between breaths, huffing and puffing a bit. Finally they reached an unlocked door, which Michael pushed open. When he did, he and the two girls took a deep breath and held it. Poking his head out the door, Michael could see many crowds of what were now zombies, mostly huddled around fallen shoppers. He climbed out and helped the girls through, and trying not to make a sound, headed toward Michael's old looking, red, compact car. Before they could reach it, a loud snap could be heard and Maja let out a screech as she fell forward. Jodie stopped and came to her, seeing that she had broken her ankle. Michael looked from the young girl near tears to the zombies around them—they heard her too and were all staring at the fresh meat. They made horrid noises and started limping and shuffling towards them. Michael could feel the hair stand on the back of his neck and quickly ran to the two girls and shouted at Jodie to run. She stumbled backwards as she watched him heave Maja up into his arms, then when she knew that the younger one was secure, ran to his car. The zombies were closing in now and gaining speed. Jodie pulled at the doors but they would not open.

"It's locked!" she screamed frantically. Adrenaline pumped through Michael's veins as he fiddled around in his pocket, trying so hard to keep the girl up by pushing her against the car so she was pinned and hovered above the ground. He wasn't quite sure how but he managed to grab the keys and push the automatic unlock button that made the loving sound of the car unlocking. Jodie jumped in and slammed the door just as a zombie ran against it. Michael threw Maja in it and scrambled in as well, barely in the nick of time. He shouted at Jodie to help Maja strap in, since she was basically useless at this point because of her shock and pain. Cramming the keys in the ignition, he started the car and put the car in reverse, backing up over a zombie and made a small squeal rise from Jodie. Putting the car into drive, he slammed his foot against the pedal and his knuckles went white as he fought with the 4,000-pound machine to keep it from swerving into nearby cars. What seemed like a lifetime, the car was finally under control and they zoomed passed the wandering zombies, and minutes later finally exited the mall lot.

* * *

The store the married couple went to was simple, yet carried almost everything you could think of, and was called the Tervu City Store. Aside from the mall, it was the largest shopping center in the entire city, and could fit four handsomely sized two-floor houses inside with room to spare. Fiona was shaking in the passenger seat of the car, and looked as if she was about to blast off the seat at any moment. Omar held her hand tightly for comfort, but it did little. He was preoccupied, and it was amazing he drove as well as he did to the store. Once parked, they sat for a moment, staring out the windshield in silence. Finally, Fiona gulped loudly and looked to her husband.

"Are we going to die?" she asked him. He slowly turned to her and stared deep into her eyes with his big brown ones; his very dark—nearly black hair was slightly messy and lay around his forehead in an unorganized fashion. Unable to answer, he simply leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, and despite the previous problems they had recently been facing, he had never felt closer to this woman than now. Her eyes fluttered as she looked down in a guilty manner, then turned her head away, breaking the kiss.

"If they come after me…you will save me…right?" taking a deep breath, she waited for an answer, not able to look at his face. He took a second, surprised at her question.

"Of course." She just nodded with confirmation and took another breath before putting her hand on the door handle and slowly opened the door; he followed suit. They stepped out of the car and looked around—everything seemed perfectly normal, no one was eating anyone or being eaten.

"It must not have hit here yet, but we have to hurry." Omar stated, and jogged toward the store, Fiona on his heels.

The journey around the store was humorous for many watching the crazy couple, whom were spouting nonsense of zombies and death. No one took them seriously as they ran around the store with two carts, grabbing pretty much anything edible and a few items that might be deemed necessary, shouting lunatics. Only one person out of the crowd of people took a second glance.

His name was Kenneth Shepard, but was known to the community as Kenny. He was a man many had noticed as a newcomer, but hardly anybody knew more about him than a simple name and appearance. He was tall, around six foot, and muscular. He had shocking, ice blue eyes and black hair that almost-but-not-quite covered a small scar on his forehead. On top his head was a hat with a shark logo, looking as if it belonged to some sort of sports team.

Kenny followed the couple loosely as they still tried to warn others about the looming threat coming upon them. Near the end of their shopping spree, they gave up and left straight to the registers to pay for everything. The teen girl behind the counter regarded the huge piles inside both carts with widened eyes and a look of regret for ever taking the job. With a groan of irritation, she began to ring up the items as the two talked quietly. Kenny approached them, hands in the pockets of his navy-blue jeans and listened for a moment. The two didn't notice him until he made a sound in his throat to get their attention.

"You know, some of us actually had to go through hell and back dealing with bioterrorism. So, on behalf of them, I think you both should rethink your charade of 'City Gone to Hell' before someone ends up hurt." He growled the last bit of his warning to the two. Before Omar had a chance to speak up, Fiona stepped in front of him.

"You think we'd make this shit up?! We almost got attacked and killed by these things, and we're being good civilians and trying to help people so they don't die! So this is the thanks we get?!" she ranted at him, but he seemed uninterested in what she was saying. He watched her closely, and as if he could see the events they had gone through at the car crash site, suddenly his mindset changed.

"These, zombies, were the eyes white? No color in them whatsoever?" he questioned. She was taken-a-back, and didn't answer. He became suddenly stern. "Were they?"

"Yes, they were…how did you know?" Omar told him. Kenny visually paled.

"I see…then the situation is worse than you originally thought. We don't have time to go warn every person in this city, and we may not even have time to prepare. Take what you can and let's go. I assume that you have a place you are staying?" the two nodded. To their surprise, the man began grabbing the bags and filling the carts. "We must hurry, our time is limited!"

Fiona and Omar, like robots started to help him, and once completely filled and paid for, they rushed back to the car with Kenny trailing behind them. Deep in thought, Kenny murmured a small prayer, and at the end simply said "God help us. God help us all."

* * *

There is nothing more cheerful than a young thirteen year old girl's laugh and giggle. Life seemed perfect to her; she was with the one person whom she cared about and has helped her through every problem in her entire life. They sat on a bench in the middle of a popular park, Elder Tree. He sat next to her with tattered clothes, but his blond hair looked as if no matter how much he had to sleep on the hard ground, it would never lose its golden shimmer. In his thoughts, he was in perfection as well, though she will never know those thoughts were shared. Her eyes seemed to glisten like a beachside of clear water. Her brown hair matched his brown eyes, but her color seemed to be beauty in itself while his was the symbol of a mutt. Others called her emo with a side of goth, he saw her as a princess with a side of hurt she would never show anyone else.

A perfect love story only to go south because of a zombie apocalypse.

The moment is ruined when the two started to hear screaming. Frowning, they look where the screaming originated and found people running away from a huge grayish cloud with dark figures creeping towards them.

"What?" the girl muttered, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. The fifteen year old boy stood up and watched. It seemed a woman who had been five months along turned her head slowly to look him straight in the eye; she had a look an owl has when a mouse is spotted. Lurching forward, the woman with bitten cheeks and a ripped up arm stumbled towards the two teens. The boy's first reaction was to step back, but when he did ended up tripping over his friend. She yelped as he fell over her legs and watched as the woman got closer. Pulling herself up from the ground, she grabbed his arm and dragged him to his feet while trying to spread the distance between them and the incoming predator.

It was too late however, because by the time they both were able to gain their balance and run properly, the younger teen was grabbed and pushed back down to the ground.

"Salmon!" the boy yelled as his friend screamed. The woman was on top of the girl, fighting with her flailing arms to reach her luscious and greasy neck. He pushed the woman, but the 185-pound woman was too heavy for his skinny arms. The girl called Salmon fought to keep the woman's mouth away. Underneath her, the girl could feel an uncomfortable rubbing sensation around her stomach, and when the boy finally managed to move the woman a little more, she looked down and screamed bloody Mary. An infant had popped out of the woman's stomach and was attempting to put its mouth on Salmon's flesh. Fear alone made the girl crawl backwards, trying to get as far away as possible from these demonic creatures. With one final push, the boy was able to make the woman trip and fall on her side, giving them enough time to stand up and run away.

"Where do we go?" Salmon gasped, not daring to look back at what will surely give her nightmares for the rest of her life.

"The sewers!" the boy shouted back, and turned suddenly. Instead of following the flow of others' trying to escape, they ran to a small stream that ran through the park. Next to this stream was a sewage line area, where many naughty teens liked to disgrace further with graffiti. They had a secret entry way that only they knew how to unlock, so when they reached it they quickly undid the lock and swung the door open. Without a second thought, the girl jumped in, and the boy followed, making sure to pull the door closed behind him.

**A/N: Hello! On time! Yay! I've been working on this chapter since the deadline for the last characters and I've got to say, this is the longest chapter I've written for anything in the past. I would just like to say thank you for reading and a very special thanks to rebeccajoleneaumanwilson, roseimagine, and Rebellion598 for the character submissions! Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter to come! Until next time~JenInTheDark**


	4. Chapter 3: HL Stands For Hell

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 3 ~

HL Stands For Hell

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 00:41:27.

The car was silent for a little while until Omar's curiosity got the best of him. "How did you know about the zombies?"

Kenny didn't say anything at first. Impatient, Fiona snapped at him to tell them.

"These zombies…they are extremely dangerous…" Fiona rolled her eyes.

"No shit Sherlock, we kind of already figured that." He glared at her.

"You don't know the full extent of the hell unleashed on us!" he went silent for a moment, in which time Omar glanced at Fiona to keep her from bugging him further. "The virus is named HL—for Hydrogen Lanthanum—"

"Lanthanum is La dumb ass!" Fiona interrupted, but before Omar had a chance to shush her, Kenny answered.

"You are correct, but they when they found a way to combine hydrogen and gaseous lanthanum, the name was changed. Something went wrong though after the samples were contaminated by the common cold, and when people inhaled the gas, major parts of the brain would shut down; some of the brain was still functioning and the body began to mutate, turning them beyond return…the gas never left research facility doors, but it must have gotten into the wrong hands."

"How do you know all this?" Omar asked as they pulled up into the driveway.

"I work for an anti-bioterrorism group called the BSAA who responded to the call when there was a minor outbreak in the research facility...we were told all research related to it was destroyed. I guess that wasn't true."

The three left the car and entered the house, finding only Lana inside. Hearing them come in, Lana looked up from the piles of ammo she was searching through.

"No one else in the neighborhood would believe me, but I see you found someone who would listen?" she questioned, and Omar nodded.

"He knows about the virus that is going around," Omar informed her, and Lana turned from him to the slightly older man.

"Is this true?" Kenny nodded. Lana stood up straight and crossed her arms. "Well then, enlighten us."

Kenny sighed. "Alright, I already told the other two how it was created. In short, it is called the HL virus. Now, I will fill you in on what exactly we're up against…"

* * *

_The virus comes in a gaseous form—extremely infectious. This gas will linger in the air, even when it doesn't appear to be there._

A pale woman was sitting in a van with the local police insignia. Calm and unhinged by the scenes of death around her, she waited for the van to come to a complete stop at ground zero of the bomb, and for the officer inside to hand her a mask. Then, the officer sitting next to her threw the door open while covered by his buddies who arrived just seconds before, and commanded her to get out with his weapon pointed at her head.

She was lovely; her hair was blonde with pink highlights that almost looked natural, and her eyes sparkled in the smoky gas cloud that covered them. Pink was obviously her favorite color, for both coat and gloves were of a similar shade to the dyed portion of her hair. The winter pants and boots she wore were white. Breathing easily through the mask, she moved slowly so the already tensed officer didn't have any reason to shoot her. Slipping out of the van, she looked around at the scene of chaos, and though they couldn't see it because of the mask—was grinning.

From the side there was a yell for help; someone's mask was malfunctioning and they had breathed the heavy air. All officers but the one guarding the woman ran forward to try to help.

_Once it enters your lungs, it's too late, and the infection begins. It takes only four seconds for your brain to shut down, and only sixteen seconds after that for the infection to kick into what some might say: the zombie fever._

The officer collapsed with his hands tightly around his throat, and became limp in his partners' arms. He shouted at the fallen man to stay with him, but he was already gone.

There was no warning when the man struck at his partner, digging his teeth into the flesh of his shoulder. He screamed and fell over as the others tried their best to get him off.

_They attract others the moment they attack someone—something about their saliva is like a calling agent, telling the others that there is food._

Stunned, the officer who was supposed to keep his eye on the suspect, didn't notice when a wandering zombie came from behind and jumped him. His pleas of assistance went unheeded, as the others were attacked as well. Busy with their sudden ambush, no one noticed that the woman was no longer in the vicinity.

_The worst part is…there's nowhere to hide. Their senses are heightened for the search of food. They will find you, no matter where you are. They are drawn by our scent. _

The two teens were panting as they fell against the wall, having jumped and ran through obstacles in the sewers to get to their current position. The girl, Salmon, was beginning to cry. The boy, Alex, was about to comfort her when he heard a noise. Frantically he tries to shush her, and she did once she heard the noises too. Someone had entered through the same way they did. Feeling responsible for his friend, Alex took a deep, shaky breath and made his way toward the entrance again after telling Salmon to stay put.

He pressed himself against the wall and barely leaned towards the edge to peer through the darkness at where the entrance was. He could hear slow, deliberate footsteps. His heart beat quickly, and seemed to go faster with every step he heard. Clueless, he debated on going back to hide or attacking the monster himself. Before he could make his decision, a voice rung out.

"H-hello?" it was a girls voice. With a sigh of relief, he pushed himself off the wall and nearly ran out to greet her.

"Over here!" he shouted. The girl was hard to see in the darkness, but her platinum blond hair was so bright it almost illuminated the walls around them. Her eyes must have been dark, because they looked like mere shadows and blended with the pitch black. Her skin could clearly be seen, for it appeared pale but blotchy. He could tell he had frightened her, because she nearly screamed at the sight of him, but calmed once she realized he wasn't going to attack.

"Oh thank goodness, I didn't know if anyone else made it out!" she said, her voice trembling and speaking quickly because of fear.

Afore they were able to say anything further to one another, they heard loud growls and blood-curling shrieks, making them both jump.

_Your only hope is to either stand and fight or run where they can't get you._

"Come with me!" the boy barked and they both took off back in the direction Alex had come. Quickly grabbing Salmon, the three teens ran from the voices and noises to a small shaft that can be reached only by a ladder. Having done this before, Salmon left them for a minute to grab an abandoned ladder they had adopted for this purpose and Alex helped her set it up. The two girls clambered up quickly, and Alex followed, barely having enough time to kick the ladder back down again before the flesh-eating monsters could follow.

_They travel quickly once the virus completely sets in with high endurance to pain…what might take about an hour for an average person to walk takes them twenty minutes._

The city was popular for its K-12 school campuses; it was the only type of school there was in the entire place. One of these campuses was called Washington Whales, where a tan-skinned boy sat quietly to himself in the 7th grade class room. He was close to being a ginger, for he had all the features but the pale skin and brown eyes. He was new to this school, but not the city or state. The boy was a foster child, originally born in Tervu, Washington but had to be placed in so many homes at a young age it was almost as if he had never been here before.

The regular chatter of the children had drone out the yells and screams of the outside for the first few minutes. However when the teacher noticed something wrong and told them to quiet, it was clear that people were being attacked. Over the speaker, the school principle came on to say there was a lock down in place and no one was to leave where they were. This did not sit well with the thirteen year old.

The boy stood up and started heading towards the door.

"Travis Arraham, sit back down!" the surrounding students murmured quietly, and some agreed and whispered "Yeah Travis, sit down". Travis didn't listen though, and simply unlocked the door and walked out, closing the door behind him.

The environment changed drastically. Teachers and students alike that were stuck in the dangers of the hallway were running like and screaming while being chased by what looked to him—sick people. Taking no time to stop and stare, Travis began running towards the other side of the school, where he knew his little eleven year old brother was having band.

_What extreme scientists predict is soon after initial infection, their bodies begin to adapt strange mutations that make them stronger, faster, and deadlier._

Suddenly, the boy stopped in his tracks. This half of the hallway was empty, while in the main hallway behind him, people were running both in and out of the doors. In front of him stood a man twice his size and boils erupting randomly all over his body. He could clearly see vicious and brutal bite and scratch marks covering the man's body, but they looked as if the skin was starting to pull itself together like a rapid process of scabbing. The arms on the monster were highly muscular and the muscles in his legs were also bulging. Travis' eyes widened.

"Mr. Yoshi…?" he tested quietly. It made no confirmation or negation to the inquiry and simply stared at the child with his clear, white eyes. A loud scream from somewhere else in the building seemed to snap the being out of its stupor, and it roared angrily at Travis and ran at him, his tall legs carrying him twice the distance of a professional basketball player would be able to leap. Luckily, Travis' size was perfect for the space in between its meaty legs, so he slipped through and sprinted to his brother's classroom. Once he finally reached there, he banged on the door, yelling for his brother. On the other side, he could hear the teacher hysterically arguing with his brother, but before long the door opened to reveal the little dark haired child who looked nearly identical to his older brother. Travis took him by the arm and ran to the cafeteria that was nearby, dodging grownups that were being attacked. Inside were huge windows, large enough for the two to climb through. Travis boosted his brother up to the sill and waited for him to slide over, then he jumped onto the ledge and with a surprisingly amount of strength from his weak arms, pulled himself over as well.

_We have to leave! Now! The red headed woman shrieked after Kenneth was done with his vivid descriptions of what is to come. He sat there with vacant eyes, as if he was a million miles away._

_It's too late._

Near the border of town, a car jam was taking place at a gate that somehow was erected within the timespan of the ordeal starting. Michael, Jodie and Maja had abandoned their car to try and get through, with no luck. No one was letting them pass, and people were warning others that the entire city was blocked off. Knowing where this would go, Michael grabbed the two girls and led them away, back to the car where they made a U-turn away from the site. The three of them flinched when they started to hear rounds after rounds of machine guns being fired, at what they could guess was the angry mob below trying to get to safety.

**A/N: So this is Chapter 3! A couple notes is I definitely need to update the character signup sheet, so because of this I am NOT accepting new characters for Chapter 4. You can still send them in, but current situations are going to be the main change so don't be surprised that in Chapter 5 if you don't update it, they will end up in a different place then you originally planned. This will only be for Chapter 4 so I can 1. Update the sheet and 2. Get everything organized between the characters I already have! Plus, don't forget that Chapter 4 is the first chapter that I will be rolling the die to see who lives and who dies! Anyway, thanks for reading! Write a review to help me be better! BYE!**


	5. Chapter 4: Step One

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 4 ~

Step One

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 00:53:48.

_Jordan Gates was an eighteen year old girl who was too nice and too kind to suddenly refuse the job offer after meeting the ten year old Maja Vlašic. Fresh from the California life of San Francisco, she needed a job (and really a place to stay, since her friend backed out on her after she arrived); so when she saw that a man would give her housing and free food for simply being a companion to his daughter, she leaped at the chance._

_The name Vlašic was not unheard of to Jordan, for they had many companies in California. She dressed in the nicest clothes she had (which for up North was actually quite inappropriate for the weather), and was interviewed by the household lady. Jordan knew that this family had a lot of money; what she did not know was that they could afford to blow up fully furnished mansions and still barely make a dent in their bank. How does she know this? Well, she was told that of course, by Mrs. Vlašic. _

_Mr. and Mrs. Vlašic were survived by only one daughter, who they treated like royalty to make up for their own horrible childhoods. _

"_Now, she can be difficult to handle at times…" Mrs. Vlašic started to say, but Jordan cut her off._

"_I'm sure she's an angel! If anything does come up, I am perfectly capable of handling it," she explained. This didn't seem to comfort the mother._

_At the end of the interview, she was hired immediately. Jordan was surprised, she expected more of a competition. The moment she signed her name on that paper however, the troubles began…_

_Literally, the moment the pen picked up from the paper._

"_I need triple chocolate cake with sprinkles and a cherry on top and I want it NOW!" they heard. The mother gulped and glanced down quickly at the paper Jordan still had under her hand. While Jordan was looking over her shoulder at the commotion, the mother slipped it out from underneath the pen, making a line on the paper._

"_Maja dear, come meet our new nanny!" Jordan's nose crinkled at the thought of being referred to as a 'nanny', but she decided to let it go for now. In came a young, tan skinned, bright blue eyed pre-teen wearing a cheerleading outfit from her school. Maja simply glared at this new girl._

"_Do you know how to make cookies?" she asked. Jordan knew she would not like her._

"_Yes…"_

"_And DO YOU know how to make cookies at the exact consistency so it is soft enough to not hurt my teeth but not too gooey to get all over my hands?" Jordan thought about this for a moment. She knew if she said no, the girl would probably just be more of a handful. So instead, she simply puts on a huge grin and nods. Seemingly happy with the response, Maja smiled and ran up to Jordan, grabbing her by the hand and dragging her away from the relieved mother._

"_What's your name again?" she asked her, but when given it appeared Maja did not like that name. "No, no, that name is stupid. I'm going to call you…Jodie!"_

_Now here they are, five years later. Jodie had taken on the name the girl had given her, along with a strange friendship no one outside them would understand._

Maja cried quietly in Jodie's lap, clinging to her like she would her purse when she felt a man walking by would steal it. Michael knew the North-East side well, and was currently driving about ten minutes away from the edge of town to Eileen Hill Hospital.

"How's your ankle back there?" Michael questioned, glancing back momentarily. Maja couldn't answer, the pain was too great. Her companion moved carefully so not to hurt her, but to see the damage. The ankle was obviously snapped, and broken so badly you didn't need an x-ray.

"It's bad…I just hope that the hospital won't be busy…" Jodie expressed, and Michael shook his head.

"It normally isn't, not many people get hurt around here."

When they arrived at the hospital, they immediately knew something was wrong. Michael had trouble parking the car, for many of the spaces were already filled. He managed to find an empty spot and he got out first. Jodie unbuckled the younger girl and helped her slide to the side door, where Michael picked her up with relative ease.

Inside was chaos. Doctors and nurses alike were running and shouting orders at each other, while patients waiting to be seen were crying and moaning in the waiting room. A nurse looked over at them and walked up.

"The wait is unbelievable right now, but if you stay in the lobby we will try to get to you quickly…"

"What's going on?" Jodie asked her, and she sighed and shook her head.

"Many of them are complaining of bites…but these aren't regular animal bites, they were bitten from neighbors, family, Hell even a stranger off the streets!" Michael turned to Jodie and started back up.

"We have to go, now!" but it was too late, because as soon as he said that, over the intercom they heard a loud voice cut over all the commotion.

"The building is undergoing lockdown. Please remain calm and wait for further instructions."

Confused, Michael looked at the frightened Jodie and nodded at the door they came through. She hurried to it and tried opening it; the heavy door was locked with no manual overdrive. The nurse ran off to find out why the building was locked down, leaving the three by themselves in the entryway.

"Now what?" Maja asked the man. He thought for a moment, then started walking quickly away from the site; Jodie had to jog to keep up with him.

"Where are we going?" Jodie questioned.

"The supply room. We can hold up in there, grab supplies and leave before it gets out of control." He yelled back to her.

The moans from patients began to sound drier and was soon followed by screams. They didn't have much time.

Still running, they had to stop abruptly; an infected doctor limped out of one of the rooms and stood, staring at the three. They stood perfectly still, unsure of how to evade it or fight it. Maja was fixed on the man's appearance; he looked decayed and even while he stood, pieces of his skin were melting away from the bone and onto the floor. The sight made her want to gag, but she couldn't make a sound. He then shuffles slowly toward them, and they backed away at the same pace. Michael had to think fast—the fate of him and the two girls were in these few seconds. He could see the marked supply room ahead. Slowly, before the zombie could comprehend what he was doing, Michael lowered Maja slowly, just enough so she could hold some of her own weight. He glanced at Jodie—she nodded as if she read his mind. He looked back to the doctor and waited for him to stumble forward. Michael shouted insults at the infected, knowing full well it didn't understand him but forcing its focus on him. Jodie slipped by the side and when behind the zombie, she quickly apprehended its arms. Before it could react, Michael let Maja go and stepped up to the zombie, grabbing the sides of its heads and with all his might twisted. The weakened bones in the neck cracked and crumbled like shattered crackers, and he fell to the ground with a thump.

Without a moment to lose, Michael returned to Maja, who was beginning to lose the temporary balance she had, and picked her up again. They began to walk away, and were just beyond the corpse when they heard the footsteps of others coming closer. Jodie ran up ahead and grabbed the door handle, praying it'd be unlocked and pulled it open. Michael ran inside with the girl and Jodie shut the door behind them.

* * *

The four inside Lana's living room turn at the sound of a loud scream. Leading the way, Kenny opened the front door and they watched as a group of concerned neighbors were now running from the flipped car. A female infected had latched on to one of the people, and they clawed at the ground to attempt escape. Giving no sign, Kenny ran from the doorway to try and aid the screaming man, but didn't even leave the grassy yard when Lana had caught up and grabbed his arm.

"You can't help him now! We have to go inside and begin fortifications!" she barked. He stood momentarily, watching the flailing man be flipped over violently by the enhanced woman and his stomach being ripped in half. She dragged him back to the house, and once inside, Omar slammed the door shut.

"What do we do?!" the frightened redhead cried, her face pale from recently puking.

"We're going to need weapons and ways to seal this house up tight." Lana told them. Kenny said nothing as Lana led the other two to a stockpile of small weapons.

_He had returned to work from his two-week "vacation". The entire building seemed somber, though he knew why. The recent bioterrorism attack in China took many of their people. He walked up to stand in the familiar line of call-off for the Alpha Team when something finally hit him. His team wasn't there. He looked around, and his gut felt like it was suddenly twisted violently. Unable to believe it, he looked up hopefully when the door opened, hoping that the team decided to come in all at once. Only one person walked through that door; Chris Redfield, his captain._

"_C-captain…where is the team?" he asked hesitantly. For a moment, he didn't answer, and wouldn't even look him in the eyes. Taking a long, slow breath, he answered with a croak._

"_Being selected…" _

_Kenneth knew what this meant. A new team was being compiled—the old team was no more. This meant…_

"_But—Piers! He's still alive, right?" he knew the answer before the words even left his mouth, and when Chris shook his head it was just adding salt to the wound. Piers Nivans, his best friend since the day he was assigned to the Alpha Team four years ago. He learned everything from him, who was called the best sniper in the whole squad. _

_His anger took over; he shouted at the top of his lungs and turned around, punching the wall so hard his hand went through. He would never tell, and never admit, that two tears fell from his eyes that moment. He looked up as if maybe Piers himself was listening._

"_I swear to God I will kill every one of those mother fuckers if it is the last thing I do!" he growled. Chris grabbed his shoulder, firmly but still caring._

"_Kenneth…you are a good soldier…but I think it might be time you re-evaluate what you are doing…I want you to take time off, go someplace you can be alone, and honestly think to yourself if you should still do this…" and then after a moment, he added "we've lost too many good men, Kenny. I don't want you to be one of them. Save yourself while you still can."_

"_Is that an order?" Kenneth grumbled, turning his head slightly but refusing to look Chris in the eyes. If he were, he would see the kindness and sincerity._

"_No, it's a request from a friend."_

* * *

Phillip Arraham was a foster child with nothing good in his past. His brother and him were brutally beaten and now bear burns that never fade; Phillip's was on his left, Travis on his right. The blind hag that marked them did so to make sure she was hitting the right child after Travis tried taking the fall for him many times. Even after they were taken away when Phillip was four years old, the torture still wasn't over for the two brothers. Every foster home held more problems, each different but equally worse than the last. Two years after being taken away from their birth parents, they made a solemn vow: that even when no one would love them, they would still love and protect each other.

This foster home they lived at seemed perfect at first, with the parents having two children of their own and enough money to make sure they had three square meals a day. However, that was all about to change.

Travis hurried his little brother up the steps to the house and opened the door, pushing him inside and quickly shutting it behind him. He turned to see the family standing across the hallway from them. They were gasping for air still, and the mother was knelt on the ground, holding her three and five year old son and daughter. The father held a knife in his hand, held out and pointed toward the two brothers.

"What is this?" Travis asked them. The mother began to sob while the father gulped and with his other hand, dabbed away some sweat with a handkerchief he kept in his breast pocket.

"We're sorry we have to do this…but we heard what happened at that school…we can't risk our children for the sake of you two…" he explained slowly. Travis couldn't believe what he was hearing, and began pulling Phillip behind him.

"But nothing happened to us! We ran before anything could get us!" he tried to convince him, but the father just shook his head. The knife was raised and trembled violently as the father started towards them, and Phillip acted quickly, pulling the door open once more and he and Travis ran through it; no matter how much they wanted to, they didn't look back.

* * *

The sound of growling and blood-lust shrieks behind them, the three teens continued to crawl through the sewer shaft. It seemed like they were crawling for hours, and in the darkness with little light to guide them, they couldn't tell how far they have gone or how much longer they had.

To break up the silence, the older teen introduced herself as Jasmine, and the other two gave their names as well.

"Is your name really Salmon?" Jasmine asked the girl ahead of her. Salmon shook her head, forgetting that she couldn't see her.

"No, my full name is Therasia Salm Leclair," she told her with a sound of hatred toward the name. "So I changed it to Salmon." She also said something that Jasmine could not understand, but she had mumbled it so she assumed that meant it wasn't for her ears. The three continued to crawl a while longer, and Jasmine's knees and hands were beginning to hurt. Coming on with a headache, Jasmine's breaths became shorter. Not able to withstand any longer, she called to the others to stop, and she partially lay down on the slimy surface of the shaft and rest her head on her arms.

Salmon looked back, annoyed.

"What's your problem?" she inquired. Jasmine took a couple more steady breaths before answering.

"I have anemia…I'll be okay…I just…need a second…" she pleaded. Salmon was annoyed, but decided against mouthing her off; after all, if she was telling the truth it isn't her fault. Once she felt better, they continued on.

"How much longer?" Jasmine questioned, her headache still lingering but not prohibiting her from moving forward.

"Not much farther." Alex replied.

After a few more minutes of crawling through dankness, they could see three little circles of light coming down from above.

"This is it…" Salmon told them. She stopped and with some difficulty, managed to push the circular hatch open. She placed her hands carefully up top, and could feel the dewy grass from under her fingers. Lifting herself up, she offered her hand to the other girl, who took it and was pulled up. Alex followed suit, and when he was all the way on the surface, pulled the seal back over the shaft.

Standing up, Jasmine looked around, not recognizing the place around her.

"Where are we?" Salmon stood up and brushed off her jeans.

"This is where I live, Breezy Villa Apartments…we're about ten minutes away from the park." Salmon pointed toward the East. She helped her friend up, who thanked her fondly with a dashing smile. The two started across the small playground that marked the center of the circular-like apartment complex, with Jasmine awkwardly walking behind them.

Salmon glanced back at Jasmine as they began up a flight of stairs to reach the second floor. "My dad can probably take you home so you can tell your parents what's going on…"

"That would be awesome…thank you." Salmon nodded back, and at room 227, she opened the front door and let them inside first, then followed. Alex entered the living room first, and stopped with a sigh.

"Uh oh…" he muttered.

Lying on a couch was a girl that appeared younger than Salmon's age, but not by much. On top of her with his tongue deep in his mouth was probably only on the brink of teen-hood. Jasmine was confused at Alex's expression—until Salmon walked in and saw this with a similar expression. Upon hearing his little sister's footsteps, the boy panicked and jumped off the younger girl, who in turn twisted around to see who it was. Seeing it was only his sister, he glared, but had a hint of a smirk on his face.

"What do you want, slut?" he demanded. She took a deep breath.

"Where's mom and dad? We need to talk to them, it's important." She tried explaining, but the girl sat up and cut her off.

"You aren't allowed to call them when I'm over, remember? Daddy's rules." Salmon rolled her eyes.

"Just because your dad has to live with us because he's a bum who can't hold a job doesn't mean he can order the rest of us around." She sassed. Her brother stood as the girl's cheeks turned red.

"Don't you dare talk to her that way! Go into your room and stay in there or I swear I'll beat the living hell out of you!" Salmon scoffed and grabbed Jasmine and Alex by arms and began leading them away.

"C'mon…we can call from my room…"

"Don't even think about calling mom and dad!" her brother called after them, but she ignored him.

"Who was that?" Jasmine asked, referring to the girl under Salmon's brother. Salmon tried to act cool but still looked shaken.

"My cousin." She opened the door to her bedroom, which was decorated with typical teenage signs saying "KEEP OUT" and the like, and once inside she slammed the door behind them.

* * *

Amid destruction, she was queen. Nothing attacked her as she casually strolled down the mall corridors. She reached into her fluffy pink coat pocket for a blue-tint clear rectangular device. She pressed a couple buttons on the surface, which created a rippling affect inside the material. Then, she flipped the rectangle to create a cube, and inside went black.

"Step one is complete." She spoke to the cube. From it, another voice responded.

"Excellent. Continue with step two." The man directed. With a small smirk, the woman slid her fingertips over the cube, and the black hue retracted until clear again. The cube then flipped up to make a rectangular prism once more, and she slipped it back into her pocket. Walking into one of the stores, she stopped to look at a wandering zombie, who only glanced at her before continuing its amble. She huffed with satisfaction and proceeded inside, where the surroundings were dark except for one illuminated object. There was a metal case with an over-light shining upon it. She walked to it and opened it, revealing first-aid-sprays, herbs, handgun ammo, and a couple of grenades neatly laid out inside. She swung a small pack from her back and placed these inside, then lifted the soft black padding to reveal a second compartment. Inside were two Colt Python revolvers.

**A/N: That's right! NO ONE DIED! That DOESN'T mean however that your character is safe! From now on, dice will be rolled to see who lives and who dies, and the chances of death increases every chapter no one dies!****! I decided to give this chapter to you guys alittle earlier than normal, just because I was so excited to give it. ** I would like to thank everyone, contributors or just readers alike, for having interest in this story. I will try my best to continue the hard work to get this story to the end. I would like to ask everyone who can to comment how they felt about this chapter and what I can do further to improve my writing. Again, thank you! OH, and by the way, everyone who has entered or will enter characters will be seen in Chapter 5!


	6. Chapter 5: Deja Vu

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 5 ~

Déjà Vu

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 01:07:05.

The situation in Tervu is one no one should ever have to deal with—especially some thirteen, fifteen, and eighteen year old kids. Salmon pushed her slightly feathered, short brown hair away from her right ear as she held the phone up against it. The phone was dialing, but instead of the normal ring of a pending call, it made the same noise it would make when the call dropped. Confused, she tried again; there was no different outcome.

"The damned phone won't work!" she shrieked and discarded the phone, and it landed next to Jasmine.

"Here, maybe there's something wrong with that number…I'll try my parent's phone." She picked it up and the other two watched anxiously as she punched in the numbers. With the phone next to her ear, they waited for what seemed like forever, only to be disappointed by the same tone.

"The phone lines must be down or something…" Alex thought aloud, but it did little to comfort the girls.

"Well now what are we supposed to do?" Salmon crossed her arms angrily, facing away from the others. They stayed in silent contemplation for a few more moments—until they heard a loud scream from the living room. Startled, Salmon hesitated, then opened the door and ran toward the living room with the others on her heels.

The sight in front of them was not pretty. An infected neighbor must have banged on the door, causing the brother to open it and before he could close it again, he was attacked. His deceased body lie on the linoleum floor, while the struggling cousin tried her best to get away from her predator. Salmon yelped as she sprang into action, grabbing the attacker and pulling him back. Close by, Jasmine yanked Salmon away just before the neighbor was about to bite her. Salmon looked passed the zombie, finding her cousin lying next to her brother—dead. Anger rising in her veins, momentarily forgetting the danger and the abuse her brother and cousin both put her through. She was about to throw herself into the zombie, but before she could, they saw a flash of black and the infected was pinned to the ground by a tall man. The two thrashed around until the man pulled a rather large pocket knife and pushed the blade deep into the zombie's eye—piercing its brain and stopping its advances. Panting, the man stood and turned to face the children. Salmon released a long breath of relief.

"Mr. Elison!" she cried, and unable to stop herself, walked up and hugged him. Obviously uncomfortable, he awkwardly pat her on the back. Matt Elison was Salmon's downstairs neighbor, and a kind gentleman who was on his way to his sister's wedding party (thus the black tuxedo) when he heard the screams from upstairs.

"What is going on?" he asked them as the young girl released her grasp.

"Nothing short of a zombie apocalypse." Jasmine explained simply. He raised his eyebrow, but didn't question further. Glancing between Jasmine and Alex, Matt turned his attention to Salmon.

"Where are your parents?"

"At work…we can't get a hold of them!"

"We can't reach my parents either." Jasmine added.

"I've noticed something wrong with the phones too…I chalked it up to a problem with the connection, but I guess it's something more sinister. Alright, I can take you to your parents…we can take my car." He offered, and they were about to leave when Alex cried as something grabbed his foot. Salmon's deceased brother had propped himself up and latched his slimy, bloody hand on Alex's ankle. Acting fast, Jasmine turned and kicked as hard as she could, catching the brother just below his jaw and forcing his head back so far it cracked; he once more lay limp on the floor, and didn't stir. Leaving again, Salmon lagged behind, staring at the corpses of her cousin and brother. A single tear left her eye for the dead, and when she saw her cousin twitch, she forced herself to leave them behind and shut the door behind her.

In his gold, compact car with luxurious interior, they buckled in and Matt backed out of his parking space and began driving towards the exit. However, once they turned the corner and could see the outside, they found a large metal gate blocking the exit. Matt slowed the car to a stop by many parked vehicles and told the others to stay as he got out and had a look outside. He walked up to a fellow neighbor and asked about the situation.

"They won't let anyone out! They say it's too risky and the government orders every apartment complex in Tervu be closed down!"

Matt returned and locked the doors, seeing as many people were running by the car to the gate.

"Can we go through it?" Alex asked, leaning in from the back seat beside Salmon. Matt shook his head gravely.

"They aren't letting anyone go, and the bars are too thick to simply drive through them." He sat in thought, watching the management of the complex try to settle the chaos. When he saw a gun pulled, he knew it would be ugly, and backed the car up and nearly hit a couple people in the process.

"Where are we going?" Jasmine inquired, grabbing on to the edges of her seat for dear life.

"I don't know." He told her.

* * *

The two brothers had found themselves in some pretty grave situations before, but none quite like this. They wondered around while panicking people ran by, taking no heed to the lonely and defenseless boys. Maybe they thought it was safer to just keep walking, or maybe they were giving up, but they continued to walk with no regard to what was around them. Absent mindedly, Phillip tugged on Travis' shirt, like he would when he was a small child and wanted to be held. Travis took Phillip's hand into his. Their eyes only looking ahead, they didn't notice that a teenage girl had stopped in her tracks to watch the two boys. She was hurriedly making her way home to her father when she noticed them, and something about the hopelessness in their faces made her pause. Curiosity took over, and she walked to them; but the boys didn't heed her attention until she physically stood in front of them.

"Where are your parents?" she yelled over the disorder around them. They didn't answer, just stared back with a blank stare. Normally, she didn't put herself out there to strangers. A need to help these children came over her—so strong was this feeling that she couldn't move away. Instead, she knelt in front of them to be eye-level. She gave them a small grin.

"My name is Emily, and I'm going to take care of you two, okay?" she told them. The older brother said nothing, so hurt by people who were supposed to care that he didn't trust this new teenage girl. The younger, though, blinked a couple of times and released his brother's hand; he approached her and raised his hand to the left side of her face, cupping her ear that was more pointed than the other. She in turn, took his hand in hers and slowly brought him closer, giving him time to reject if he wished. He did not, and she picked him up and held him close against her chest with one hand. Extending her other hand, she reached to the thirteen year old boy. He hesitated, but with a reassuring look from his little brother, he took her hand and let her drag him toward safety.

* * *

Wielding two colt pythons, she walked carefully through the abandoned mall. The repellent was beginning to wear off, causing some of the infected to attack her. A whimper caught her attention in the child playground at one of the far sides of the mall. Walking closer, the whimper was being emitted from a grown man, who cowered in the play set. Tapping the structure with her gun, she made the man jump in fright.

"Don't eat me!" he shouted, but then realized she wasn't a zombie. "Who the hell do you think you are?!" she grinned at him as she leaned up against the structure, eyeing the wife-beater.

"Me? I'm more interested to know who you think you are."

"Don't play games with me, bitch!" he threw a punch at her, which she easily dodged and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his back and throwing him against the slide.

"Oh, you don't like games? I do; games make life entertaining. Let's play one now, I'll ask you if you saw a man with a black cloak anywhere near here, and I'll spare your life."

"Let go of me!" he screamed over and over. Making a tsking sound with her tongue, the woman moved her hand to the back pocket of her jacket. Inside, she grabbed a shot with a full vial. She turned him around and stabbed the man in the eye, making him screech in pure agony. The liquid drained one millimeter at a time, until the vial was only 1/10ths empty. She removed it, and let him fall to the floor, twitching.

"Wrong answer." Turning, she leaves the squirming, dying man behind; his skin was beginning to harden and he looked like a human-butterfly with no wings as he froze into a cocoon. It only took seconds for the cocoon to begin to bubble and form new shapes, a couple of which starting to look human.

* * *

The race against time had begun, and the neighborhood was filling with more and more zombies. _There seems to be more zombies than there are residents in this entire neighborhood…where could they possibly be coming from? _Lana thought to herself, taking another plank and setting it against the mostly-covered window so Kenny could hammer it in. The house was quiet as the four had set to work; they had to be quick if they didn't want these zombies busting in. The doors leading inside the house were covered, and now remained the windows they deemed hazardous. Most of the windows on the second story were uncovered—so if the situation got worse, they could pick off the infected from above.

Unable to bear the silence any longer, Kenneth cleared his throat and started conversation.

"So…is this the first outbreak you've been in?" Lana narrowed her eyes, refusing to look at him as she held the plank up.

"I was one of the fortunate ones—until now I suppose." She told him, with an edge to her voice.

"Well, you didn't miss much. Though if you were in one of them, you might have seen just how badass I am." Lana broke her concentration and dropped the plank. It made a loud thump on the ground and she glared daggers at the man who was only a few years older than her.

"Listen, we don't have much time. Let's just get this done." Trying to hide the blush that was starting to creep along her cheeks, she stopped down and grabbed the fallen board. He shrugged.

"Who says we can't do that and get to know each other? If we're going to be surviving an apocalypse together, we might as well be friendly." She shushed him. "What? It's not like I'm asking for se—"

"Quiet!" she interrupted. They stood perfectly still for a minute, and through the window, they could hear the grunts of an injured zombie. Straining their ears, they could tell that the zombie was still being attacked.

"Someone's outside!" shocked, Lana sprinted to the staircase, skipping steps as she made her way up. Not believing they would make it in time, Kenny didn't hurry as much, and when he entered the room he saw Lana leaning out the window.

Outside was a young man, and wielded nothing more than a baseball bat. He swung with as much strength as he could muster at the approaching zombies.

"He's not going to make it out there!" turning, she grabbed a sniper that was placed by the window for a similar moment, and shot the ones around him. It took a moment for the man to realize where the shots were coming from, but eventually he caught a glimpse of Lana. When a path cleared, he took the chance to run onto the lawn.

"The door is blocked..how are we going to get him inside?" Lana wondered aloud, glancing around, trying to find something to give her an idea. Kenny thought as well, and came up with the idea of a rope. With Lana's building, it was possible to stand just outside the window, so Kenny voluntarily crawled outside and waited. Lana left and then reentered with a rope in hand. She tied it to the bar that hung curtains, and handed it off to Kenny. He took the rope, and threw it down to the young adult. He was nearly there when the rope's weight became too much, and the bar broke away from the wall; Lana, who was standing right below it, was slammed in the head by the metal and collapsed. The rope began to drop, but Kenny grabbed hold and howled as the rope burned his palms and fingers. Kenny used the gutters to keep himself steady, and was sweating as the other climbed up the side of the house and finally grabbed the gutter and hoisted himself up with some help from Kenny. Pulling the rope with him, Kenny jumped back through the window with the blond. He threw the rope aside, and ignoring his throbbing, bleeding hands, he examined the unconscious Lana.

"She needs first aid…" he looked up at the eighteen year old, who's eyes were bright blue, but a large scar over his left eye had made the outer edges of the iris turn white. Without further instruction, he left the room and ran into the other two, who gave him one of the few first aid kits. Bringing it back, he walked in to see Kenny had laid the sleeping beauty across his knee, and was keeping her head elevated and using a ripped portion of his shirt to slow the bleeding.

With the first-aid kit, Kenneth cleaned the gash and wrapped her head. He, with the aid of the other man, picked the girl up and placed her on the bed. The man looked at Kenny.

"You should clean your hands…they look like they hurt…" Kenny had barely even noticed the aching pain, too focused on helping the woman.

"I'll be fine…" Not taking no for an answer, he grabbed the remains of the first aid kit, and began wrapping his rope-burned hands.

"Thank you…for saving me…" Kenny glanced at him.

"You're welcome…so…what's your name, kid?"

"Derik…Derik Harrison."

"Well then, welcome to the survival club, Derik."

**A/N: I am so sorry this chapter is late! I was at a place with no connection, and I just got it back! But here we are, still no important deaths to report! I hope that hasn't discouraged you all, because only fate can decide who dies. Anyway, I want to thank ****rebeccajoleneaumanwilson, roseimagine, Rebellion598, nightsky44, MeeMeeCandy777, HectorLives, Ebitch, and UntitledObstacle for such wonderful characters and contributing to the story! I am still accepting more characters, as I haven't decided on a limit yet. Please review with suggestions on how to improve! I can only make it better if you tell me how!**


	7. Chapter 6: Of Heroes and Villains

_A Cruel, Undead World_

_~ Chapter 6 ~_

Of Heroes and Villains

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 01:41:34.

"I'm sorry I couldn't do much more…" Michael looked sadly at his poor make-shift cast made from five layers of bandages. Maja stared at it, her face was pale with the pain she felt, since the major pain-killers they gave her was still taking affect.

Jodie put her hand on his shoulder.

"You did the best you could do, and that's all we could ask for." Michael gave her a small grin; to someone watching them, it was a small gesture—but to him, it meant a lot more.

_You see…no one had ever looked out for him, but himself. The only person who showed she cared was his little sister, Michelle. She was the darling sweet heart of Las Vegas all those years ago: the strippers would squeal when Michael's mother brought her to work, and the men loved to play with her._

_It was his job to watch her._

_She was four years old, he was only nine at the time, and mistook Michelle's signs of affection as annoyance and took every chance he could to drop her and go on his own._

_Like I said, no one looked out for him, and only one person cared-_

_And he abandoned her._

_His mother would give him money to go gamble, and because she was such a key stripper, the management didn't bother him. One day, in an effort to shake his shadow, he left her at the table to go play some slots. _

_When he came back, she was gone. Panicked, he looked everywhere, asked everyone. He walked into one of the rooms to see a sight he will never be able to forget._

_No one could describe his agony, and I'm not going to put the picture in your head of what the worst of humanity is capable of doing to a four year old girl._

_She died in the ambulance. He screamed at the paramedics to save her, but they tried everything twice and it still wasn't enough. Cause of death: strangulation from a leather belt._

_With mommy's little princess gone, there was no reason to be sober. His mother took up drugs, and didn't restrain herself from shaming her now only child._

_Guilt was always on his mind, and he felt no escape. Finally he gave in to temptation and took a hit of what his mother had, and that was all it took for the road to Hell. He not only partook in this deadly deed, but sold it around school for more money to feed his own addiction. _

_He was fifteen when thrown into the back of a police car and hauled into a child psychiatric ward for treatment. The words they told him didn't seem to get through until three years later, when he was eighteen and his gang was about to do the same thing to another little girl that he witnessed men do to his sister. Is there blood and life on his hands? Probably. Did the police know? Probably not. He vanished that night, and was never seen again in Las Vegas, Nevada._

_But a new man showed up on the streets of Tervu, Washington; a clean man of twenty-one with a stable job and home._

_Now fighting for his life in the zombie apocalypse._

_Fate is cruel._

Those last words were thought in Michael's head, as he sighed and broke the eye contact he had with Jodie. Watching the two interact with each other, Maja could feel something there, but for once decided to keep her big mouth shut.

"Well, what now?" she whimpered, trying to move her leg slightly to a more comfortable position. Jodie knelt beside her and whispered in a motherly tone to be careful, and helped the girl move so she felt better. Michael stood up and walked over to the only door; they had placed a long thick bar in the handles to keep it from opening, but they could still hear the hungry grumbles of the zombies outside.

"Now, we wait for rescue…that's really all we can do."

* * *

Who would have thought that such a quaint neighborhood would now look more like rival gang territory? Omar Ruan sure didn't.

But this sight was not unfamiliar to Omar, who had lived most of his adolescent life in a very bad part of Mexico, controlled by gangs. He was one of the few Mexicans who were smuggled successfully into the United States. Eventually, he was able to attend law school with help of friends, but decided that wasn't what he wanted to do. Instead, he became a law teacher for the Washington Whales School. Luckily, he called in sick that day to comfort his sickly wife.

Who is still very, very sick.

She spent ten minutes in the bathroom, puking, with the kind yet awkward young man standing behind her, holding back her hair. Derik tried soothing her with song, only to yield insults from the misses in between vomits.

Omar waited for her in the other room, already knowing it was futile to help while she was tossing it. He looked worried, for more reasons than one. Just finished with the last of the reinforcements, Lana started walking passed him, but couldn't help herself but to stop and sit next to him.

"Is something wrong, Omar?" she asked. He exhaled deeply and didn't look at her, too busy watching his thumbs wrestling each other.

"It's Fiona…she's been sick for the past two months, and I'm not sure what to do anymore…she's been throwing up a lot, she's always tired, going to the bathroom frequently, craving strange foods, changing moods rapidly, gaining weight…" as he listed all these symptoms, Lana's eyebrows rose steadily until they were at the highest point of her brow. Suddenly, he looked as if something just struck him, and with a panicked expression turned to Lana. "You don't think she has a bladder infection do you?"

Lana couldn't tell if he was really that ignorant or just plain stupid.

She didn't quite know how to begin, so she just let herself sort of ramble. "Well…do you think that it may be possible that all the seed planting in the bedroom finally grew some fruit?"

He stared at her with a strange expression, and just when she thinks he knows what she meant, he says: "I suppose some of the plants in our bedroom could be growing a bit more, but I hardly think that would be the reason she's acting so strange."

She shook her head with both disappointment and pity for the poor man. "I meant, is it possible she could be pregnant?"

"Pregnant?" he repeated. She nodded, and he looked at her as if she were an alien with a hundred eyes and tentacles for hair. "No! She couldn't be pregnant!"

"Why couldn't she be? What you described is the majority of symptoms associated with the first trimester of pregnancy." She gaged his expressions before saying, "Listen, you're what, in your mid-30's? Have you two actually talked about the possibility of having kids?"

Trying to be the helpful person that she is, she continued "I have had quite a few friends who were married have children, and even though in the beginning it was hard for them, they always told me it was the greatest thing that happened to them. I'm sure that having a child would only grow the bond between you and Fiona."

To her surprise, Omar's face began to contort with anger and his golden skin started turning red. He stood up and left the room, and after a few seconds of collecting what just happened, Lana followed.

When she found Omar, he was standing in the bathroom, a couple of feet away from his still sick wife.

"You're pregnant?" he shouted. Fiona sat, unable to move, before wiping her mouth and swatting away Derik's hands.

"Of course not. Why would yo—"

"Tell me the truth!" his voice began to shake, as if he was close to tears. Lana couldn't understand what the problem was. Fiona stared him straight in the face with narrowed, calculating eyes.

"Alright, fine, I admit it. I'm pregnant."

Kenny walked upon the scene as Omar began breaking down, yelling profanities and crying like his dog just died. Lana didn't know what was going on, but she didn't think the way he was acting was fair. She yelled for his attention and he quieted slightly for her to speak to him.

"Quit acting like it's the end of the world! If you're the one who knocked her up than you should suck it up and take responsibility for this!" he fell silent, and all eyes were on him. After a few seconds, he finally explained.

"You don't understand…a few years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and had to undergo radiation therapy…" he stood with difficulty, due to the shakiness of his legs. "It rendered me sterile-it's impossible for me to father children!"

* * *

They had decided to go back to the sewers that Alex, Salmon and Jasmine had come from. Matt drove as far as he could with the car, but they had to leave it behind short of the playground. Making sure no one was around, Matt got out first, then signaled the others to follow him.

"The sewage line is over there!" Salmon called back as she led the way. They didn't go two feet away from the car when a blood-curling scream forced them to turn; what they saw was ten feet tall, and weighed 500 lbs of pure muscle. It looked hideous, all fat eaten away by the infection and forcing the muscles to grow to an unnatural size. The brain was overgrown too, making it look like Jimmy Neutron on serious steroids. Veins covered the beast, and because its clothes were torn off by the process, you could tell it was an unfortunate female.

"Run!" Matt barked, and the four began to sprint away. The large zombie shrieked loudly, causing the ground beneath them to shake and they lost their balance. Following the scream, they heard groans and grumbles—it had called for the rest of them. The four stumbled to their feet once more, but the larger one started making its slow way toward them, causing the ground to shake violently. They fought to stay balanced while still making progress to the covered hole.

While it was tough for them, it was even more difficult to Jasmine, who suffered from anemia. She huffed and puffed, trying to keep up, but knew she wouldn't make it. Her dark blue eyes closed and time seemed to stand still for just a moment.

_I can't give up…I can't let this stupid thing keep me from surviving…_

Her eyes cracked to see the other three: zombies were surrounding them, they weren't all going to make it.

_This would almost be funny…all this time people made fun of me because I knew zombies were real…and now I'm going to be killed by them…_

They were closing in, it was now or never.

_If they make it, that's all that matters._

She stopped. Being the nerdy girl she was, she knew how to get them to turn on her instead. Zombies always go after the slower pray. Her knees hit the ground, no one notices her left behind until her piercing screams filled the air. They were almost there, but they turned anyway to see Jasmine lying in the bright green grass with her hands on her head, the infected leaping at her.

Matt wasn't going to let this happen. He ordered the other two to get out of there, and they obeyed and threw open the hatch and jumped down. Struggling with the approaching tank, he retrieved his special pocket knife he used earlier and braced himself, pushing the nearest one away. He stabbed the one mounting her, and was shocked and sickened to see it had bit her shoulder. Not giving up, Matt slammed his elbow into one of the running zombies, and it flew backward. The naked zombie was upon them now, but Matt ducked its slow swing and grabbed Jasmine, picking her up bridal style and dodging the attackers, managing to get to the open hatch and lower her down to the other two. Without a moment to lose, he jumped in and slammed it shut just before the horde was upon him.

* * *

Leaned up against the wall of the Cheesecake Factory, she waited with boredom, shooting random passing zombies before they were even twelve feet away. The mall was almost empty now, the scattered zombies leaving the mall to find other sources of food. She was not the most patient, and was quickly becoming irritated with the mysterious stranger she needed to be meeting with. Her thoughts were interrupted by a man's voice, who called out to her.

"So you must be Agent Carson, or I hear you also respond to, what was it…Cherry?" she turned to see the black cloaked man, chuckling at her. She put a hand on her hip with a smirk on her face.

"The nickname my mother called me back in the third grade. Now how would you know about that?" he laughed harshly, shaking his head as he approached her. She didn't flinch when he took out a Beretta and shot a zombie behind her, the bullet nearly grazing her cheek.

"I know everything about the people I work with," he told her. She hummed and switched her weight from her left side to her right.

"Why don't we just cut to the chase and you give me what you promised?"

He shrugged. "Suit yourself." He reached behind him, where a sack was hung over his back, and pulled out a small case. She reached for it, but he held it out of her reach.

"I must know, what are you going to do if this doesn't work?" she scoffed at his question.

"We continue on until it does. You should know that just as well as I."

"That seems like a waste of a lot of lives, don't you think?" she turned partially, pretending to look off in the distance of two infected, fighting over a half-eaten person.

"How would you live with yourself?" he pushed the issue, and she was tired with it. She looked back to him, her head tilted slightly, expression showing irritation.

"The same way we all would. Forget and move on." She held out her hand, and he finally gave her the case. He put his hands in his pockets and sighs.

"Well then, I hope for the sake of your conscious, this goes according to plan."

She placed the case in her deep jacket pocket, and played with her gun while speaking slowly to him. "Yes…according to plan…" she pointed the gun at him. Stunned, he backed up, completely forgetting the gun still in his hand.

"What are you doing?" she chuckled.

"Sorry, just following orders." The gun went off, and he fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. "Because if this doesn't work, we can't have you running off to the authorities. Nothing personal, of course." She holstered the gun and walked away, taking out the prism-phone and pressing a couple invisible buttons.

"Yes?" the deep voice answered. The woman looked back at the dead figure.

"Step two is complete."

"Good work, Agent Carson. We are nearly finished. Continue with Step three." She nodded and opened the cube back to the rectangular-prism, and put it back in her pocket, walking toward the nearest mall exit.

**A/N: Whoo! That's a lot of new information! Chances of survival are getting super thin, and some have even slimmer chances! Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I was surprised (yet somewhat glad) that I didn't get any new characters. So, for ahead, be prepared for after Chapter 7 I won't accept new characters for a chapter, and also the time will play a big part in Chapter 8, so be sure to be watching that carefully! Thanks also for the wonderful reviews! I've been reading them all and putting what I learn from them into play in my writing, and I hope you guys can see an improvement! Catch you all next week!**


	8. Chapter 7: Hope

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 7 ~

Hope

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 0 Weeks, 0 Days, 03:11:28.

Emily leads the two boys up a few stone steps to a grand two-story house. She opens the door and lets the other two in first, then quickly shuts the door on the chaos behind them.

"Stay in the living room, I have to call my parents!" she told them. The sixteen year old ran from the two to find a phone.

Travis looks to his younger brother. "What are we doing here?" he asks him. Depression was clear on the boy's face, and his little brother sensed it and slipped his small hand into the bigger one.

"We're being helped," he told him simply. Travis shook his head.

"You don't know that, everyone that says they will help us just ends up hurting us…how can we trust her, Philli?" the little one looked down in thought, then stared deep into the older one's eyes.

"Because we don't have a choice." He stated, and the both of them knew it was true—they wouldn't survive out there.

Emily came back, a horror-struck look on her face.

"This…isn't even on the news…no one knows about what's going on here…how could they not?" she asked herself, beginning to pace. "Everyone knew about Raccoon City soon after the first hint of a zombie, why doesn't anybody know?" the brothers looked at each other, then back to watching the girl, hopelessly pace back and forth. The three were doomed if they didn't get help soon, and by the looks of it, they weren't going to get it. She didn't tell them, but her parents who were just outside of town on a small vacation for their anniversary, couldn't even get inside the city limits. The reasoning they were told? A bad bout of influenza they were trying to stamp out and keep from spreading.

* * *

"Just hang on, Jasmine…we will all get through this, I promise…" the man was knelt beside her on his knees, dabbing at her cold forehead with a wet rag. They ran as far as their feet could carry them, then broke into an abandoned home just above the sewers. Matt had the teens take care of the injured girl as he locked everything and blocked every entry point he found. Once he returned, he tended to the wounds.

He was surprised, with what the two had told him, this infection had to be transmitted easily and took affect quickly; Jasmine however did not seem to be turning into an infected.

The teens right now were sleeping—so exhausted from the endless running. He couldn't rest, not with this young girl hurt like this. She hadn't said a word, and didn't appear to be conscious, though her eyes remained open and blinked rarely. Brushing her platinum blond hair back, he placed her head gently on his leg, applying some disinfectant to the bite. He had managed to get the bleeding to stop by pressing some torn apart curtains to it for a while, and even with the bite she seemed…still herself, aside from her open eyes. To himself, he questioned aloud "What is happening to you?" as if she would awake and answer him.

* * *

The tall young man with the black hair and light blue eyes was lying on the bed, one leg crossed and bouncing up and down with his hands behind his head. Lana walked by the room, and even though Kenny had just about two seconds to see her, he called out knowingly: "Lana!"

She turned and almost ignored the voice, but something made her walk back a couple steps and look inside the room at the lounging male. "Yes?"

Sitting up, Kenny's eyes sparkled with genuine worry. "How's your head?" With the excitement of Fiona's adultery and pregnancy, Lana's injury was forgotten, until Kenny brought it up of course. She would have preferred it stay forgotten.

"Fine…why do you care?" she asked him. He merely shrugged and explained that since they were going to survive together, he had to make sure everyone was at tip top shape.

"Besides…" he added, "If you were to go down, there'd be no other beautiful lady to talk to." He smirked at his own words. She scoffed and turned, ready to go again, but he called to her.

"Look, I can see you don't like me, and I want to change that. What do I have to do for you to trust me?" Lana narrowed her eyes at the man and examined his face, trying to see if he was being serious or not. Finally, she answered his question curtly.

"Maybe when you stop treating this like a joke and take it seriously, I'll begin to consider trusting you." She started to leave, and Kenneth didn't stop her.

"I know this isn't a joke." He stated, causing her to pause momentarily. "But I can't let those things destroy me. I owe it to him…" that last part was lowered in volume, so Lana barely heard. She glanced to the side, catching a glimpse of him out of the corner of her eye, but decided against inquiring him and left the room.

In the kitchen, Derik was making a sandwich; a simple peanut butter and jelly. Even if the boy was eighteen years old, he had moments of innocence and childish ignorance. Many were put off by his awkwardness, all because his emotions were shielded.

Omar was sitting in the pantry, which was adjoined to the kitchen. He had been in there since the discovery, and Fiona made no attempt to speak to him. In fact, she found make-up in the bathroom, and without asking Lana's permission began to apply it. No one bothered her-no one wanted to talk to her.

Derik knew the older man was in there, but wasn't sure what to say. As he spread the jelly, in his head were different ways he could comfort the guy. In the end, the younger one walked up the middle-aged man, and offered him a half of his sandwich without speaking. Omar was confused, and stared at the sandwich. With his age, Omar could easily see pass even the strangest of people. He looked up at the younger boy and gave a semi-grin and took the sandwich. Derik grinned, seeing he understood his gesture, and sat down next to him. The two sat in silence, munching on their halves of the sandwich.

**A/N: Hey all! Sorry this is both a little bit on the later side and shorter than usual, I am setting everything up for the next chapter, which will be a big one, where all characters are featured! Next chapter, there is no avoiding death, for the odds have slimmed to the point that surviving is near impossible. As I said chapter before, I will not be accepting new characters, and all characters that do come in will be seen in chapter nine instead. Hope everyone is doing well, and I hope you all look forward to the next chapter just as much as I am! R&R!**


	9. Chapter 8: Too Late for Some

A Cruel, Undead World

~ Chapter 8 ~

Too Late for Some

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, 18:14:35.

If you've ever experienced cabin fever before, you might understand how poor Maja Vlašic felt. The fifteen year old girl from San Francisco, California was miserable. Used to running around the big city all the time and spending half her parent's paychecks every other day, being stuck in a supply closet all the time was horrific. It might not have been so bad if it were a small room that at least had windows. Maja didn't even have any notion of time anymore. Her two other companions: Michael, a man they met shortly after the outbreak; and Jodie, her personal babysitter; were able to leave. She on the other hand, was unable to even get up because of her broken ankle. At this point of her life, she was depressed.

Watching the other two sleep, she sat impatiently with a grumbling stomach. There was no reason for her to sleep, for when she feels tired is when she decides it is bedtime. On some days, she will sleep more than other days, and on other days she sleeps less. It all just depends on her pain level. Michael, though often irritated by her constant complaining, still felt bad for her. The supply closet didn't have many necessary medications to keep Maja from hurting, and he has yet to find some sort of medicine cabinet. So, he would look from room to room and search for some abandoned pain killers. At the moment, Maja was coming off of some naproxen he found a couple days ago, and feeling grouchy from discomfort. Careful to keep her foot as still as possible, she pulled herself close enough to Jodie to shake her awake. Jodie grumbled for a moment before opening her tired eyes to look at the girl.

"What is it, Miss Vlašic?" she mumbled. Jodie was in no way obligated to call the fifteen year old 'miss'. She does it however, out of respect for the young girl. The two of them have been through a lot in the past five years, and even when the younger one doesn't outwardly show respect back, Jodie knew she respected her out of everyone she had ever known. The reason being Jodie was the only one who would tell her 'no', which is something she needed to be told a lot. With the amount of money her parents make though, her parents don't care how much money the girl spends or what she does. Even if Maja sometimes doesn't like being told no (well, most of the time), she knew Jodie only does it because she cares.

Right now though, Maja was starting to feel pain, and she absolutely hates pain.

"My medicine is running out, I need you and bus boy to go get me more." Jodie exhaled quietly, not yet moving.

"What do we say?" Jodie's eyes were half closed, almost falling back asleep as she said this. Maja glared at her friend.

"Now," she told her. Jodie looked back at her with a stern look, and Maja sighed. "Oh alright…please?" she pleaded. Satisfied, Jodie slowly began to sit up and stretch, letting her eyes adjust to the dim light that hung above them. Wanting to let the man sleep longer, she silently stood up and began to open the door—what she didn't know was Michael was already awake.

"Where do you think you're going?" he questioned, his arm propped up to hold his head as he watched the older woman. She closed the door again, not removing her hand from the handle, and looked back at him.

"I was just going to go out and get Maja some more pills," she said innocently. Michael shook his head.

"If you won't let me go out on my own, I can't let you leave by yourself either. Besides…what if you were in trouble, and no one was there to help you?"

Jodie knew this was true; they had all mutually decided that they wouldn't go out alone. For one, there wasn't very many weapons lying around a hospital, so they relied on stealth mostly to get pass a wandering zombie. This is a dangerous maneuver, for the zombies have very keen senses, and with the passing weeks have become stronger and faster.

Although, if you asked her, she thought Michael used it as an excuse to be alone with her. She figured this mainly because she had the same thoughts when they left to scavenge.

Jodie switched her body weight from her left leg to her right and stood, waiting for Michael to crack many of his body parts, as he does every time before they leave. Maja glowers at him with a look of disgust appearing on her face. Michael notices and chuckles before picking up a pipe he found a little while ago, resting it against his shoulder, and following Jodie out of the room.

The two have been lucky so far, for this hospital included a cafeteria on the same floor. This is where they had been finding their food and water. They were instinctively walking in that direction, almost becoming a ritual of searching the rooms around the cafeteria for medicine then heading to the cafeteria itself for more sustenance. At first, the two were silent; then Michael cleared his throat, and Jodie looked at him, knowing this meant he wanted to say something.

"Maja really looks up to you, doesn't she?" he asked her, his eyes keeping focused on their surroundings—they haven't seen any infected yet, but he knew it was only a matter of time.

Jodie grins and looks straight ahead again as she answers. "Yeah, we've known each other for a long time. I think it's because I don't let her get away with most things her parents would have."

In the while they've known each other, Michael has learned a lot about Jodie, but for some reason she has yet to learn more about him. All she knew was he had moved here just recently, and has been bouncing from job to job trying to make one stick. Sometimes she attempts to ask him questions about his past, but he quickly changes the subject or acts like he has to focus harder on what they're doing so he can't talk.

"Where do you think her parents are now?" Michael glanced at her, watching as her face grew grim.

"They own a private helicopter. I'm sure when it first started they were the first ones out of here."

"Without even trying to find their daughter?" his face showed indifference, but his voice betrayed his shock. Jodie shook her head.

"There's a reason I was hired—so they didn't have to deal with her anymore. The last time Maja had even spoke to her parents was about four months ago. Most of the time they are out on vacations or working." She explained.

"That's awful…"

Jodie looked at him, slight determination showing in her eyes. "What is your family like?"

Like a broken record, he stopped in his tracks, and knowing his reaction to questions like this, she stopped, too. He looked around with narrowed eyes, as if he heard something. Jodie put a hand on her hip.

"There's nothing there. Why do you do that?" He became protective and scowled at her.

"What? Make sure that we're not going to be eaten and keep us safe? Oh, I don't know, because we have no idea where the next zombie will come from?" she shook her head.

"No, you do it because you don't want to tell me about your past. Look, if you want me to stop asking, just tell me and I'll leave you alone. You don't have to act like an ass about it." She spun on her heel and began to walk away. He knew he screwed up, for she never usually responded this way.

"Wait…" he called out. She stopped and turned around again. He sighed, and looked as if he was contemplating something. Jodie waited patiently, wondering to herself if he was actually going to open up. He gulped loudly, and with a shaky voice, said:

"I haven't had the best life…I want so badly to just pretend it never happened, and…well…" he ran a hand nervously through his hair, unable to look at her. "I don't want you to think any less of me…because if I told you, I have no doubt in my mind that you would…" the two stood awkwardly for a couple minutes, neither of them sure what to say. Finally, Jodie closed the distance between him and planted a warm yet brief kiss on his cheek.

"Nothing could change how I feel about you." She admitted, a slow blush rising.

He blinked three times in surprise, staring deep in her green eyes. Struck by her beauty, it seemed time was in slow motion as he looked her over. Her red hair was greasy from not being able to wash it, but the color reminded him of the red leaves of autumn. Her green eyes never dimmed, glowing like emeralds in the broken lighting. Her blue blouse was torn in many places and clung to her body loosely. The skinny jeans she wore were also ripped at the knees, where she had fallen and crawled many times.

He felt drawn to her, and despite the layer of dirt she had over her, he saw her as a Goddess. Like two opposite sides of a magnet, the two began to gravitate toward each other, lips about to touch.

So focused on each other, they didn't hear the spider-like zombie crawl above them. It jumped from the ceiling, landing directly on Jodie and knocking Michael back. The two fell to the floor, Michael sliding across the linoleum. Jodie landed hard on the ground with the new added weight on her back, and screamed as she felt two-inch long pincers stab into her neck. The zombie still possessed a human torso, and it used its human arms to pin her arms to the ground as it sucked on her neck, trading blood for virus. Michael shouted out and picked up the pipe he dropped on impact, and swung as hard as he could at the zombie. It knocked it on its back, but with ease it flipped itself back over and scuttled away before he could swing again. Looking down, Michael was terrified to see the bite marks in Jodie's neck, and she was no longer moving. Shaking his head in denial, he lifted her limp form off the ground and threw her arm behind his neck and began to drag her as quickly as he could back to the supply room, praying to God over and over to spare her.

* * *

An armored helicopter flew above the city, followed by three others. The one in front held four people, the pilot, a BSAA agent, and two worried parents. The mother looked as if she had been crying, her eyes puffy and red. The father stood behind the pilot and agent, giving them coordinates. The helicopter broke formation and started to land, landing on a neighborhood road in front of a section of houses. The four jumped down from the helicopter and realized the situation was worse than they originally thought. Overturned cars were everywhere, and even birds were pecking at the remains of fallen humans. The agent knelt down and began sniping wandering zombies nearest the point of extraction while the parents led the way inside. The father looked around as the mother called out her daughter's name. He turned and tugged at his wife's sleeve and nodded toward the kitchen. She nodded and they ran to it, the pilot standing guard at the door with his gun drawn. What used to be an underground pantry was turned into an emergency bunker, and the father banged on the door and yelled desperately, hoping someone would answer. They waited, the mother holding a hand over her mouth, fearing no reply.

A click was heard on the other side, followed by several louder metal scraping noises. The door finally opened to reveal the sixteen year old Emily Combs. Her blonde hair was messy, but otherwise okay. Her parents exclaimed with joy and pulled her into a deep hug, and Emily began to cry with relief. Behind her, a small boy walked up the stairs. Phillip Arraham watched the tender display without any emotion, his hazel eyes vacant. Emily turned, feeling his presence, and reached her arm out to him. His face brightening, he accepted and joined the hug. The parents expressed the need to hurry, and each parent took one child and led them back to the helicopter. The pilot patted the agents shoulder, signaling it was time to go, and they all boarded. They lifted off into the air as Emily spoke briefly to her parents, introducing Philli to them. Mr. Combs then asked the young eleven year old if he wished to join their family instead of returning to the foster program. He agreed with a nod of his head, then stood and while gripping tightly to the railing, watched Tervu, Washington appear farther and farther away. Quietly he said to himself with tears falling from his eyes: "We did it, Travis…we found a family…"

_His brother would always be his hero, and he will never forget him. Shortly after Emily informed them of the situation, the house was broken into by a crowd of zombies, who had watched them enter. Emily found the gun under the counter and shot at them, killing them but not before one could grab onto Travis and bite him. They could hear more approaching, and Emily pulled at Phillip to go down into the bunker. He screamed for his brother to come with. He refused. The older brother could feel the infection rapidly spreading into his veins, and knew it wasn't long. He commanded Emily to take him away, and with tears in her eyes she pulled him away. With Travis' final breath, he whispered "I love you", and let the darkness take him._

_As the helicopter flew up into the air, the now mutated brother stood in the middle of the street and watched. Eyes milky white, he had no memory of his brother, or of his entire life. He would be shot later by a random agent after he mindlessly attacks them._

* * *

The woman with the blond and pink hair pulled up into a pony tail stood up straight after kneeling. Three survivors lay at her feet, beginning to transform. Breathing out with irritation, she takes her colt python from a holster on her belt and shoots each of them, deflating the cocoon before it could hatch. She looks around, frustrated now. It has been three weeks, and she has yet to find what she was looking for. The cloaked man's words still in her head, she continued on; she couldn't fail this mission and let all these people die in vain. Walking down an empty road, she stopped suddenly when she heard voices. Thinking they were more survivors, she headed toward them, but luckily stopped herself right before the point they would be able to see her. She peered behind a tree to find outfitted men, climbing out of a helicopter.

"Alright men, you know our mission…find and rescue all survivors and take them to the safe zone." A tall, muscular, brunette man told the other soldiers. They all responded with "Yes sir!" and other variants, and split into smaller teams. She recognized the captain as Chris Redfield, a character she had to look out for. Cursing the BSAA, she knew she now had limited time. Then, she came up with an idea to follow one of the teams to find survivors, then hopefully she can find what she's looking for. Grinning to herself for the idea, she began to sneak around them, following the main group down the dismal streets.

* * *

The five at Lana Richards' house were able to live somewhat comfortably until now. Their supplies were beginning to run thin, what with all five of them, and are now only eating two meals a day. It would only be a matter of time before they had to leave for more provisions.

At the moment, Omar, Kenny and Derik were in the kitchen, laughing and making jokes to try and lighten the mood for a little while. Lana on the other hand, was tending to the cheating wife. Omar and Fiona hasn't spoken a word to each other since the day he found out about her pregnancy. Omar was a man who can handle many things—but this was not one of them. The only reason Lana was even helping her through this hard time was because of the innocent babe she carried.

The defenses they put around all entry points seemed to work: until now. The three in the kitchen were in the middle of laughing at some fake orgasm jokes when they heard a loud bang come from the other side of the wall. They stood, wondering what it could be. The bang happened again, only this time the wall shook violently. Kenny scrambled to grab the Mosin Nagant Sniper rifle leaned up against the table. Derik and Omar both picked up shotguns they had sitting on the counter next to them. The last bang shattered the whole wall of the kitchen, revealing a muscular zombie with four eyes and no hair over any part of its body. It wore shorts, making the infected have a striking resemblance to a white hulk. It bellowed at them before charging at Kenny. He dodged, sliding behind the counters as the huge infected broke the table of the adjoining dining room into tiny pieces. The three began to shoot at the zombie, but it wasn't going down easily. They couldn't see it yet, but there was a thick layer of skin that had hardened, creating a sort of armor that their bullets were barely grazing. The zombie walked near Kenny and swung at him, but he jumped over the counter to avoid it and rolled on the ground, standing again.

"What the hell is this thing's obsession with me?" he yelled, turning to once more shoot at it. The infected ignored them for a moment, strolling over to the fridge behind him and grabbing it, lifting it over its head easily and throwing it at them. From the force alone, the fridge broke through the counters and almost hit Omar if he had not sidestepped when he did. Lana had come in now with her own sniper, kneeling at the bottom of the staircase, shooting as well. One of her bullets pierced the armor, causing it to roar in pain. Enraged, it broke through the counter and charged at Derik, who was backed into a corner.

Knowing Derik was trapped, Omar ran out in front of him as the monster reached them, and the big hands reached and grabbed Omar instead. Omar screamed in agony as the huge hands crushed his arms, causing him to drop the shotgun. The zombie roared and with both hands turned and slammed him into the ground, fracturing the back of his head and back. Once more, the zombie lifted him up and tossed him away, forcing him to hit the opposite wall and slide down.

Shouting out with rage, Derik ran up and shot the infected in the back of head, which was the armor's weakest spot. The bullets drove into the zombies head, causing it to whine loudly and fall forward-dead. Kenny, who was the closest to Omar, swung the strap of his rifle over his back and ran to him. Following suit, Derik and Lana rushed to his aid, Lana pausing to grab a handy first aid kit she kept under the couch.

Kenny turned his head to look at Derik and Lana with a grim look, and shook his head. The broken man on the ground was wheezing, his ribs punctured his lungs in many places. He didn't have long. Derik stared down, and anger starting welling up inside him.

"Why the fuck did you do that?!" he shouted, tears beginning to develop in his eyes. Omar tried his best to grin at the boy.

"Because…I have nothing more to live for…you do…" his voice broke many times and the stuttering made it almost impossible to understand him. Derik shook his head fiercely.

"That's not true! Dammit, you fool! Why?!" Derik's voice croaked and the tears streaked down his cheeks. Omar didn't answer for a while, mustering the final strength he had.

"I…will die happy…knowing…I had a son…to live for…" he told him. Derik sat there, dazed. Lana looked away with tears down her cheeks as well. The man's breath began to become shallow, and seconds later, stopped altogether.

The three stood near the man they had been surviving with for the past three weeks. The man Derik had learned how to shoot from. The man Derik looked up to as his father, since his had died in Raccoon City. And just like his real father, this one was taken away from him too.

He pounded on the floor, crying out loudly, unable to see, hear, or feel anything around him.

Eventually, the world turned black for Derik.

He woke up a little later, an icepack held to his head by Lana. He asked her what happened.

"Kenny had to knock you out. With the open hole in the wall, your yelling was attracting more of them. Don't worry, we were able to kill them all and patch the hole for now." He apologized but Lana shook her head.

"Don't. We know how close you two were." Fiona called Lana's attention away, and with a sigh of irritation she handed the boy the icepack and left. Derik sat up slowly, his head swimming from the blow he suffered from the ex-soldier. When his equilibrium returned to normal, he stood and walked back to the destroyed kitchen and dining room. Where Omar was lain, a blanket covered his now mangled body. Derik walked a little closer, but ended up falling and sliding down against the wall.

He didn't know why his luck was so bad.

He already lost his parents in Raccoon City, and his little sister was still never found. If he had believed in a God, he would think he had hated him. But he doesn't, and that's the only thing that keeps him from feeling hated.

Kenneth walked in to see the boy, and knowing he was ill, helped him up and back to the couch. Derik didn't argue, and when he laid down he was finally able to fall asleep for a short while.

Four hours later, they held a burial for their fallen comrade. Kenny and Derik spent the better part of two of those hours digging a decent grave whilst Lana guarded them. The time they spent mourning at the graveside was short, for they had to return to the house quickly.

Night was arriving fast, and Derik was already fast asleep. While Fiona slept soundly, unbothered by the death of her husband, Derik tossed and turned while mumbling in his sleep. They all decided to sleep in one room that night, one person up at a time to stay watch. They were upstairs in Lana's room, where a week ago the men pushed the guest bed into this room so they now had two queen-sized beds. Derik slept in one, Fiona was in the other.

Right now it was Lana's turn to watch, her sniper at her side, she observed the city from her window. Kenny was supposed to be asleep next to the young man, but he couldn't bring himself to keep his eyes closed for long. He instead slipped off the bed and quietly joined the woman, startling her slightly.

"Can't sleep?" she asked him. He nodded.

"Those things are getting stronger…it won't be long until we all end up like Omar…" he sat against the wall, his eyes no longer with the light they had before. The death of Omar brought back many memories for him, of the squad members and friends he watched die in his time with the BSAA. Lana was sitting in a chair, looking down on the man. At first, she said nothing; then she apologized. When he looked at her in question, she explained.

"When this first began, I assumed you weren't taking this seriously. I didn't realize how badly this was affecting you." She looked out the window. "But you can't think that way. We are all going to make it out of this."

Hopelessness in his eyes and mind, Kenny didn't respond. Lana looked back at him and noticed. She slid off the chair and to his surprise she crawled directly in front of him, forcing him to look her in the eyes.

"We are going to make it out of this. I promise." She said softly. He blinked once, actually wondering if he was just dreaming. They held the stare for the longest time, neither of them moving. She waited. Finally, he nodded.

"Okay. I believe you."

* * *

The house that Matt, Jasmine, Salmon and Alex were staying at was similar to a dream house thought only achievable for rich characters in movies. The outside was completely made of brick, while on the inside every room had wood paneled walls and only the more expensive flooring. It was nighttime now yet no one was sleeping.

Alex and Salmon sat on the roof, which there was an easy route to from what they could guess was a child's bedroom. They talked a while, asking each other about their chances of survival. It didn't take long for that feeling they felt before this all started to return from hold. They gazed into each other's eyes, and like in love stories, in the light of the moon Alex asked her to be his. Of course, they were too young for marriage proposals, but the two now saw each other as a couple after four years of being friends. The only thing that made this different from any romance was possibly the drifting zombies below.

A floor below them, Jasmine was supposed to be resting under Matt's orders. She however couldn't sleep, and he couldn't either, worrying thoughts about his family's wellbeing haunting him. He would spend this entire time looking for them if it weren't for the kids. His family had the tools to look after themselves and he knew that; these children did not.

Jasmine watched the man sit in a chair, pondering what their next move should be. She interrupted his thoughts with a question that had been on her mind for the past three weeks.

"Why did you save me?"

"Why wouldn't I save you?" he retorted jokingly, a handsome grin on his face. Even though they hadn't had the chance to shower, since the water in this house was shut off two weeks ago, he still looked dashing.

"You didn't know I would be... well… whatever I am towards this thing." She muttered. He frowned then.

"Well, I wasn't about to leave you behind, even if there was a chance you would turn into one of those monsters." He told her. This made her feel better; she wasn't sure why but it did. She then returned to her own thoughts of her own family. They have been on her mind little since this began, having to think of herself after being bit and wondering if she was going to make it. But now that it was clear she would survive, she wondered where her parents were now, and if they were looking for her. Matt watched her a moment, knowing something was bothering her.

"What's wrong?" she shook her head at first, but then she decided to tell him her thoughts. He nodded slowly, and told her he shared her fears. They sat quietly, listening to the rumbles of the zombies outside.

"Tell you what…" he started, and she looked up at him again. "Tomorrow morning, since you're better, we'll go look for our family. Deal?" She smiled.

"Deal."

**A/N: So a lot has happened in this chapter, and I hoped I delivered to expectations! If not, tell me what you think! If so, tell me what you think too! I just hope it didn't seem sort of rushed at the end, I haven't been feeling too well and have been progressively feeling worse. So far, we have two dead, and two escapees.**

**Now, for a short message to Ebitch, owner of Emily Combs. I thank you very much for the contribution, and while Emily's time in the story was short, it was not without meaning, and she saved little Phillip Arraham's life. I hope that even without a character, you will continue to read and review the story. You can create another character, but I suggest you wait for my planned sequel, where you may add in Emily's return with a new character as well.**

**Quickly, I also want to thank my new editor: nightsky44; for being so prompt and helping me make this better by fixing errors she found! **

**And before I forget, try to hop over to the side-along story for this, _Lies and Panic_, because it might clue you in on a few other things that happen outside Tervu!**

**Thank you for reading!**


	10. Chapter 9: Angels in Disguise

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 9 ~

Angels in Disguise

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days, 21:27:57.

It was later in the morning, yet the fog hovered over the undead city of Tervu like a menacing omen. The survivors who were still trapped there had no idea about the rescue attempts; but it did them little right now for the fog was so thick by this time they had to take a break.

The group of four who left the refugee of an abandoned house missed a group of BSAA agents only by fourteen minutes.

They wondered still, having no clue where they were going in this thick cloud. An hour earlier, the four were in a heated debate: Salmon and Alex wanted to stay and wait it out, while Jasmine and Matt wanted to leave and search for family. Before you think them heartless, remember that Alex was homeless with nobody before this even began, and Salmon was detached from her family since she blamed them from the horrors she endured from her uncle whilst he lived there. Of course, the other two did not know this. In the end, Jasmine and Matt won, and they set out with only makeshift weapons they found scattered in the house.

Matt took the lead, handy pocket knife in one hand and a small pipe he managed to separate from the house foundation. He wasn't sure why he felt so compelled to protect these children—possibly just because of his kind-hearted nature. These thoughts never came through his head though, he was too modest to think such things, but settled with what he told himself before: his family has tools to survive this catastrophe while these kids don't.

Jasmine followed him closely, constantly looking around at the slightest of noise, holding a rusty machete close to her side. This would be the first time in the last three weeks she was allowed out and about. None of them had really left the safety of the home, but she was rarely out of the room they kept her in. She would like to think it was because they worried for her safety—deep down however she can't help wondering if it was more for her safety or their own. Jasmine won't lie to herself, the things she have endured has left her feeling wounded and hopeless. Even after surviving such a bite and not becoming one of them, she feels there is no more point in continuing. She's never felt this defeated before, since she is normally a competitive person, especially towards Life. Fear of turning into the infected haunts her dreams every night, and interrupts her thinking constantly. The only thing that is keeping her going is the thought of her parents. Her parents weren't even supposed to be here, they reside in Japan and had come down to visit their daughter. They shipped her here to her grandmother's house so she could have this 'opportunity' so many tell them about. Ironic that her fate is more than likely to be eaten or become the predator.

Alex and Salmon took up the rear, staying close to each other. He carried an axe in both hands, she held a frying pan.

Yes a frying pan.

When she picked this weapon from the house's kitchen, her new boyfriend raised his eyebrow in question.

"What? Being hit with one of these is a bitch." She explained. He chose at the time to not ask how she knew that.

The roads were hard to walk through, seeing as the fog was so thick. They were constantly tripping over sidewalks that would magically appear under their feet.

"Where do you think this fog came from?" Jasmine asked the company.

"If I had to guess, it has something to do with the virus." Matt speculated, only partially paying attention to the conversation. It was rare for them all to interact, for they mostly were too concerned about the overall wellbeing and next special infected appearance to say much. Plus, why would you strike up idle conversation during a zombie apocalypse?

Well, some people believe it's necessary. Like Alex.

"So…do you guys like music?"

Matt decided that question wasn't important to answer, and stayed quiet. Wanting to encourage this flow of chatter to ease her numbing thoughts, Jasmine revealed she liked techno.

"Really? I would have never seen you as a techno kind of person." Salmon scoffed. The other girl shrugged.

"I never really thought someone would want to be named 'Salmon' either."

"Yes..what is the secret behind that name?" Matt piped in.

"Her middle name is Salm." Alex enlightened him. "I was the one who gave her the nickname, and it just kind of stuck."

"I see…"

Salmon stayed quiet as they talked about her. Noticing the difference, Jasmine began to hang back. Her voice became quieter, but everyone in her company could still hear.

"You said before your real name was Therasia…why don't you like that name?"

"Too girly." She stated simply.

Jasmine didn't answer for a bit, then finally she said "Well I think it's a beautiful name."

Salmon didn't respond to that.

"Is that the apartment complex?" Matt asked suddenly, squinting his eyes at something in the distance. Once they walked a little further, they were able to confirm that it was in fact Breezy Villa Apartments. The sight beyond those bars disgusted them: piles upon piles of the dead with mindless infected walking among them.

"I just realized…we haven't needed to fight a single infected this entire time…" Alex pointed out. As if the words jinxed them, they heard a loud gurgling noise. The four looked at each person, wondering if it was one of them. Un-expecting, they were suddenly rained upon by acid. All four yelled in pain as they fiercely tried to wipe the acid away. Alex fell to the ground, catching most of it in the face. He clawed at the liquid that was lightly yet painfully burning his face. Jasmine freed her eyes of the burning liquid and looked down to see her blue pleated miniskirt literally melt away. Luckily, under the miniskirt she wore black leggings, but she was embarrassed all the same. She looked up to see the cause of the destruction of her garment, finding a truly hideous infected who had nothing but an oversized mouth in the center of its face. Fuming, she crossed the distance between her and the infected, swinging her machete so viciously the limbs fell to the ground as it was separated from the torso. It wailed in pain, before its head was neatly yet gruesomely removed from its neck. Blood landed on Jasmine, but it didn't seem to bother her as much as she used to think it would. Turning back, she didn't look up at the group until she was among them, but was surprised to see their shocked faces.

"What?"

"Do you know how fast you just ran?" Matt stuttered. She thought back, but shook her head, not having thought of the movement. "You were gone in a flash, we didn't even know you were gone until we heard that zombie!"

"Oh…" she murmured. Luckily, the attention switched from her to Alex, who was still in anguish. The other two knelt down as Salmon grabbed some medical supplies out of a backpack she had been wearing, put together at the house before they left. Jasmine turned away from them.

This was the first time she was really noticing how the bite affected her, not just emotionally but physically. Before, with her anemia, walking long distances wasn't the easiest. Now she didn't even break a sweat or needed to stop to gasp for air. She wondered what exactly the infection was doing to her body, and the thought of it made her shudder in fear and, strangely, excitement.

"Who's there?" they heard out of the blue—or more specifically, gray. Even though they knew the voice was not of an infected, they tensed at the sound. This new voice was unfamiliar to them, thus could be dangerous. Jasmine silently walked towards where they heard the voice. Making sure the three of them were still in sight, she walked a few steps ahead, until finally she could see a young man make his way toward her. She opened her mouth to say something when she saw a shimmer of silver upon her, and before she could realize it, a new machete stuck in between her shoulder blades.

The world turned white all of a sudden for her. She wasn't able to breathe momentarily. Matt cried out, and without thinking ran toward the man and pushed him back, causing the machete to pull cleanly out of the new wound. Jasmine stumbled a bit before Matt grabbed on to her and began to lay her down. Seeing their moving mouths, she could no longer hear what they were saying. The man who stabbed her walked forward with a look of pure shock, his disheveled black hair highlighting his fearful light green eyes. Her eyes closed slowly, the fog swallowing her vision.

* * *

Michael had been sitting in the corner for the last three hours now, blaming and cursing himself over and over again. He shouldn't have let her guard down, and because of it, Jodie was more than likely going to die.

But…she hasn't yet. This surprised him. Everyone that encountered an infected or the infectious air turned almost immediately. After he patched her up and the bleeding stopped once he brought her back to the storage room, she was still just as human as either him or Maja. To say the least, Maja was not at all pleased to see the condition of her best friend when they returned. She screamed every insult she knew at Michael, even while he scrambled to try and save Jodie. Now Maja just sat silently, surprisingly not having said anything about the fact she was in pain that was increasing in intensity, and merely stroked Jodie's hair over and over. Having convinced himself she was better off if he stayed away, Michael kept his distance. Now however, something was beginning to boil inside him; those damned infected were the ones who did this, they are just as much to blame. He sat festering for a few, before he could take it no longer and stood up, picking up his pipe. As he was opening the door, Maja called out to him, and asked where he was going. He hesitated, not knowing what to tell her.

Finally, he told her "I need to clear my head."

Without waiting for some sort of response (though he didn't expect her to tell him to stay, for he was sure she was still pissed at him), he slid through the crack he made and shut the door behind him.

Where he was going, he had no idea. All he knew was what and why. To kill those fuckers, because they hurt someone he cared about.

Really cared about.

He shook those thoughts from his head and started walking down the narrow strip of hallway toward an elevator, mindlessly slamming his pipe down on some of the more mindless and lazy infected. The elevator had stopped working for no apparent reason about a week in there hole-up. So imagine Michael's surprise when he glanced at it to see the lights on and the door open. Curiosity overwhelmed him as he walked to it, inspecting it up and down. It seemed to be working. Feeling crazy and almost suicidal, he decided to test it out. He stepped inside and pushed up. The doors glided shut and to his annoyance, the elevator music was activated. When the doors opened again, he was pleased for only a moment, because mere yards in front of him was a horde of zombies. To his disbelief, they weren't attacking him-and it took him a while to realize that was because they were attacking some other, non-infected person.

The man had black hair, and from what Michael could see, blood red eyes. He wore garments he couldn't recognize, but even as some infected bit him, didn't seem to make a scratch on him. He looked only slightly older than himself. He grabbed one infected by the arm and threw him at a couple on his side, then with his now free hand, shot with his P226 pistol at some that were closing in on him. It only took seconds for him to put a bullet through the rest of them, his aim dead on at the head. His gun fell on Michael, and instinctively he put his hands up.

"I'm not one of them!" he shouted. Convinced, the man lowered his gun. He looked over the other.

"Good, I was wondering when I would see more survivors." he chatted, his voice remaining at a serious tone. Michael timidly nodded in agreement. Holstering his gun, the man held out his hand.

"Rick. Rick Walker."

"Michael…" he took his hand and shook it briefly before letting go. "I was honestly beginning to think I wouldn't find anyone else…"

"In these situations, there's always others." Rick stated coolly. Michael raised an eyebrow, already beginning to suspect he would not like this fellow.

"You've been through something like this before, I take it?" Rick shrugged.

"Once. You?" he asked him but Michael didn't think he was very interested in hearing the answer. Nevertheless, he replied.

"I've been through the run a few times, yeah." He didn't notice until now that his hands were fists.

"Are there more of you?" Rick asked, this time with more urgency. Michael nodded. "Good, take me to them."

"Come again?"

"Our chances of survival will increase with more people. Besides, I probably know more about combat then you have knowledge of your own body. Let's get a move on it, before they catch our scent." As the man walked toward where Michael came, Michael instantly began to regret satisfying his curiosity.

**A/N: Finally! Chapter Nine! I apologize over and over for it being super-duper late but life can be demanding at times. I hope you all feel better now. Chapter ten will still be posted this Friday as promised! **

**I'm not sure how many read my profile, but I am still interested in doing a new cover picture featuring all the inputted characters for those with submissions that are interested too. For more details, there's something about it on my profile page under one of the updates. **


	11. Chapter 10: Mission Failure

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 10 ~

Mission Failure

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 3 Weeks, 3 Days, 17:31:59.

God is a cruel son of a bitch.

Not only did Michael nearly cause the death of the only woman he legitimately loved (yes, loved), he now has to deal with this asshole.

Rick Walker walked as if invincible, like nothing could hurt him. That bugged the crap out of Michael. When Rick first arrived, he might have thought he was invincible. His patience with his arrogant manner however was beginning to dwindle to nothing.

Or maybe it was just because it was another handsome young man closer to Jodie's age.

Oh the cruel, undead world.

Rick watched as Jodie slept. She had awaken twice in the past ten hours, each for about ten minutes. He must have known she was bit, even if Maja and Michael silently agreed to say nothing. Looking into the young woman's face, Rick became melancholy, like something was on his mind. Michael tried his best to ignore him, but Maja was becoming irritated quickly.

"What are you staring at?" she snapped. Rick held the gaze a while longer before turning to the younger one.

"This woman has been infected." Michael turned quickly to face him.

"She isn't one of those creatures!"

"If she was she would have ripped your face off by now", Rick agreed snidely. "The virus has mutated inside of her. She will be fine, but I'm sure once this is over, her life will not go smoothly."

"And how the hell would you know?" Michael stepped up to him, the two men mere inches away from each other. Rick did not back down. His voice became quieter.

"Because I have gone through the same thing."

Michael didn't know what to say, so he ended up saying nothing and backing down. Grunting, the slightly older man walked to the nearly empty supply shelves and looked through what remained.

The silence that followed was tense and nearly unbearable, but no one wanted to break it. About thirty minutes passed when the only light source above them began to flicker. The three of them looked at it nervously, and watched as the light finally died, and left them in darkness. Leaving them no choice, they opened the door a crack to illuminate the room a bit. Using a stool sitting beneath the shelves, Michael pulls it under the light and stands on it to remove the light bulb. He sighs and curses his luck.

"The light bulb is dead…we need to replace it."

"Then we will have to go get another one." Rick lifted a CheyTac M-200 Intervention onto his shoulder, and removed a Model 1911 Crosskill variant pistol from a holster and showed it to Michael. "Can you handle a gun?"

"Of course I know how to handle a gun", Michael muttered angrily, and snatched the gun out of his hand. As he turned away, Rick raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

They walked down the narrow hallways, eyes darting in every direction in case of infected.

"I think there are some light bulbs in the room down the hall", Michael told him. Rick nodded, and they continued, but before they could reach it, roars began to rise from nearby. The two stopped, looking around. Rick raised his gun.

"A horde is coming!" Michael raised his gun too. Before long, a huge group of fast-paced zombies were after them. Shots rang out, but they just seemed to keep coming.

Remembering that these monsters had hurt Jodie, anger started to rise in Michael. When the pistol was emptied, Michael discarded it and fought hand to hand.

"You fool! You will be killed!" Rick shouted out, trying his best to fend off Michael and himself. Michael didn't listen, punching one infected doctor in the face. An infected nurse stumbled behind him and held onto his back. As he was trying to throw her off, the zombie he just punched launched himself at Michael's chest with a long, sharp piece of glass. Michael shouted out in pain as Rick tried to reach him. Knowing it was useless, Rick grabbed a flash grenade he had handy, and tossed it in the middle of the crowd. It blinded everything that had eyes long enough for Rick to navigate to Michael and dragged him back down the hallway. By the time the infected figured out what they were doing, Rick had managed to shut the door.

The room was alit only by a small lantern Maja managed to stumble upon while looking for a flashlight. She gasped as Rick lay the bleeding comrade on the ground. As if feeling the tense atmosphere, Jodie's eyes began to open.

Rick managed to get the door barred and then knelt down to examine Michael, and quickly pulled the glass sheet out, earning a scream of agony from the fellow. It didn't take a doctor to tell that the glass had punctured one of his lungs, and he was struggling to breathe. Throwing the glass aside, Rick looked around for something, but knew nothing at this point would help him. Jodie, now fully awake, screamed his name and forced herself to crawl to him. Tears stuck at the corner of her eyes as she looked at the man she barely knew, and they began to fall when he shook his head.

He knew he was going to die. Perhaps because of everything that had happened, he was okay with that fact. Grasping at Rick, his hand caught the neck of his plated-vest and pulled him down so he could hear.

"Make sure…they make it…out of here…that is my…only request…" his voice shuddered and broke several times from the inability to breathe. He was saving his last breath. Pushing him away, Rick stared at the dying man, and nodded. He then turned to Jodie, who held her face in her hands, her entire body shaking with grief. Gently, he reached out and took one of her hands, and she could barely look at him. His face was paling, bleeding out quickly. He didn't have long.

"Live…for me…I…love…you…" his last word was barely audible and his eyes glassed over, the rest of oxygen leaving his body. Jodie blurted out a "No!" and grabbed at his shoulder, shaking him, screaming for him to wake up. Maja cried silently in the corner, and Rick still knelt there in shock.

* * *

Jasmine wakes up to see Matt over her, gently washing her forehead and whispering her name. She groans and attempts to sit up, but Matt stops her, forcing her to lay back down.

"Don't move yet. We don't know what the side effects are to this new…ability…" he murmured. Remembering what had happened, she looked down and expected to see a gaping wound in her chest—there was none to be found. Shock must have been evident on her face, for Matt frowned and nodded slowly. "We don't know how you did it, but you were able to heal yourself. It was a slow process, but it began immediately after the blade went in you. I think that bite might have something to do with it."

He gestured at the scar that remained on her shoulder. As if she didn't already feel strange, this new ability made her feel like a monster. She sat up and ignoring Matt's advice, swung her legs over the couch. Looking around, she could guess that they had moved into another abandoned house. This one wasn't as nice as the last, a single floor flat that probably only had one bedroom and bathroom. A bachelor's kind of house. She shrugged the scarred shoulder and stood up, stretching.

"So, what happened to the guy that got me?" she asked. While the man did stab her, she felt as though he didn't do it on purpose, thus not holding too much of a grudge.

As if hearing his name being called, the man from before entered. He was a plain looking guy, white t-shirt, blue jeans, black converse and a black jacket. The only extraordinary feature about the young man was the fact he had the brightest green eyes she has ever seen. Those green eyes blinked a couple of times almost in fear as he sees the now-awake girl.

"Hi…I'm Jake…I'm sorry I stabbed you with my machete…" he mumbled the last part, but she got the gist of it. She gave him a half grin and waved her hand, as if waving it away.

"No big deal…it's not like it killed me." The joke made her twinge a bit on the inside but she ignored it. Jake nodded, his eyes wandering to Matt, who gave an encouraging grin. Taking a big breath, Matt looked from Jake to Jasmine.

"We should get going. It's almost noon-ish and we lost a lot of time waiting for you to rest up. The other two are eager to get back on the road." Jasmine knew the last statement wasn't true; Salmon and Alex thought it would be better if they just stayed put. She figured he said this because he was the one itching to get moving, which was understandable—he still had family to find. Remembering her own family, she nodded and within the next ten minutes, left the safety of the home.

They walked around, leaving the apartments behind again, and reached a small park similar to the Elder Tree Park. This little park had a small man-made stream that went from one side of the park to the other. While the stream was short in length, it was about ten feet deep. Across the stream were different bridges. At the bridge closest to them, they could faintly see a figure through the haze.

"I think somebody's over there…" Matt called out, and hurried his pace. When they got closer, Matt stopped in his tracks. He stared at the woman on the bridge, then ran towards her.

"Katelyn?" the other four stopped short of the bridge as Matt moved on to it.

"Matt, look out!" Jasmine called out. The woman on the bridge wore a beautiful wedding gown, her veil covering her face. Jasmine however could see the blood stains on her sleeves and neck. A growl rose from the girl as she turned to the man that was once her brother.

"Katie, it's me! Matt! Please, no!" he begged, praying she was kidding. She turned to reveal that her nails had turned into long, thick and sharp claws and she shrieked as she jumped on him, pinning him to the ground and stabbing him over and over. Jake was the first to act, taking the machete and swinging it down on one of her arms. She howled as the arm severed from her shoulder. To their horror, a new limb grew back in its place: a sharp, jointed blade shot out of her shoulder. With this new arm, she swiped at Matt, who luckily ducked before his head was cleanly detached. Salmon and Alex came to his rescue, grabbing him from under his arms and dragging him away, for he was too shocked to move. She was not done with them though, for she launched at Jake and knocked him to the ground. Mounting him, she speared at him, but he dodged long enough for Jasmine to push the woman off. With amazing acrobatics she would have never been able to do uninfected, she rolled on the ground and twisted to face them again, snarling and uses her arm to send Jasmine flying backwards. Matt is able to stand now, and he lifts his machete and pocket knife in a menacing but shaky manner.

"Please! Don't make me do this!" he pleaded, but she was beyond bargaining. She ran at him once more, so he closed his eyes and swung his machete at her, while at the same time dug his knife deep into her side. She screamed again, but like before, another blade shot out and replaced the other removed limb.

"This isn't working!" Salmon yelled. Matt is knocked back, and is about to be mounted when Jake jumps on her from behind. Twisting violently, she eventually bucks him off, sending him flying onto the bridge. He falls unconscious, and she takes the opportunity and crawls over him. About to stab him, Matt shouted and caught her attention. He grabbed her into a bear hug, and knew what he had to do. With wet eyes, he glanced at Jasmine, who instantly knew what he was going to do; she screamed for him not to do it but he shook his head, silently asking her to not stop him.

With a sob rising from his chest, he held onto his sister tightly, ignoring the pain he felt from her shaking his back in an attempt to get away.

"At least we'll be together…" he whispered, and with the last amount of strength he had, pulled himself over the railing of the bridge—his sister falling into the water with him. Jasmine ran onto the bridge with her new found speed and reached out her hand, but he was already gone, and had disappeared into the watery depths.

* * *

Chris Redfield never envisioned himself doing this again.

After Piers' death, he continued to be that caring captain he used to be before Edonia. Though every lost life still scarred him deeply, saving people from this nightmare was still worth his sanity, at least in his mind.

His team had found only a teenage girl and a young boy, no one else. He was starting to think this entire trip was becoming hopeless, and that they should start bombing right away. Then, finally, they heard a shout as they walked down the streets cautiously. Running to the source, they found a woman, huddled in fear inside a car they presumed to be hers while attacked by infected. His team handled the infected as he opened the car door and helped the woman out. She thanked him over and over, but before he could even pull her to safety, the woman gasped and stopped talking. Confused, his instincts took over as the woman collapsed into his arms, and when he looked her over knew instantly she was dead. Something about it reeked of foul play, and he noticed a tiny vial sticking out of her back. About to pull it out, he was suddenly knocked over by a swift kick to the head. Falling over, he looks up to see a woman clad in pink quickly grabbing the vial and begin to run off.

"After her!" he shouted. Looking at the woman again, he noticed her form was beginning to harden into what he knew all too well to be a cocoon. Cursing, he shot it mercilessly before it could transform into something dangerous. He looks up as a shot rang out, and a woman screamed out. Scrambling up, he ran to the woman that had been shot, and glared at one of his rookie men. "I meant stop her, not shoot her!"

He looked at the woman, who was sprawled on the ground, and knelt to her. Gently, he moved her so she lay on her back, and he could see that the bullet had gone through her middle section. He recognized the woman instantly.

"Marcy Carson…I should have known Neo-Umbrella was responsible for this." He growled angrily. She coughed a little, blood spurting out.

"It can't end like this…I have…to complete…my mission…"

"What mission?" he asked, listening intently to see if she knew more about why this happened.

"The virus…the cure…must…find…carriers…" Chris furrowed his brow and stood, knowing there was nothing they could do, and that she had no useful information. He turned to his squad, ready to continue their own mission, when she cried out.

"More will die if they aren't killed! Without the cure…there is…no…hope…" her voice faltered to nothing and her eyes remained open forever. The squad moved out while Chris lingered behind, staring at the woman with the blond and pink hair. Finally, he tore himself away, and left her body to lie like thousands of others in this city.

**A/N: Okay! Finished the chapter! So…there were three dead today…I'm sorry to those who lost characters, UntitledObstacle with Matt Elison and MeeMeeCandy777 with Marcy Carson. I promise though, they did not die in vain, and because of their deaths means a more interesting sequel that I hope all of you will enjoy. As a bonus for letting me kill your characters, I also want to tell you both that in the sequel, you will be able to have TWO new characters instead of the original one, if you are interested in staying with us. I hope you will still stick around to see how the story ends!**


	12. Chapter 11: Fulfilled Promise to Death

_A Cruel, Undead World_

~ Chapter 11 ~

Fulfilled Promise to Death

Tervu Infection Outbreak Active for: 0 Years, 0 Months, 3 Weeks, 3 Days, 23:36:55.

There is no mourning during a zombie apocalypse. Jasmine cried on that bridge for five minutes before the screams of Matt's sister caused a zombie horde and they had to run. They tried their hardest to avoid the infected, running more often. No one was in any condition to fight emotionally. Everyone felt drained, and even having passing thoughts of just simply ending it.

Right now they were just wandering aimlessly, no real direction. Jasmine was lost without any idea of where her parents' work might be, and the hope that they were still alive began to dissipate into a depression only a child can have from losing her parents. Jake was on his own mission to look for family too, his little eighteen year old brother out there somewhere. He had last got word that an eighteen-year-old named Derik Harrison had moved to this city, which was the whole reason why he moved here—to find him. He hoped the name Harrison was at an attempt to hide their past at Raccoon City. At the time of Raccoon City, he was six, while his younger brother, Derik, was three. The two were separated with the outbreak, both parents took them elsewhere since they were at two different locations. They planned to meet up, but the death of the two extinguished the plans.

Unbeknownst to Jake, his little brother barely remembered him, and was told he was dead. Jake had been spending most of his life searching for his brother.

Salmon and Alex were simply in survival mode, wanting to protect each other from harm and breathe for another minute.

Again, another horde began to run at them. They ran once more, hoping to outrun most of them, since many stumbled over their clumsy legs. In this crowd however, most of them were quick on their feet. They quickly caught up and gave them no choice but to fight back. Jake swung his machete like there was no tomorrow, Jasmine picking up her enemies with ease and bashing their skulls in against the concrete. Her powers didn't bother them anymore, and had actually become an asset. Salmon used her frying pan to slam into the infected skulls, cracking them and making a loud THUNK. The nature of the axe Alex was holding was moderately heavy, and his swinging reaction time was relatively slow in result. This hadn't been a problem before, but with the quicker zombies, it became an issue. While trying to remove his axe from the middle of one of the zombies' spines, he was jumped by one of the infected.

He shouted for help as he fell to the ground, wrestling with this zombie. Finally, he managed to roll on top and swung his axe onto its head again. Before he could stand, another fell on to him, and more started to pile on him. Pain filled his body as their teeth ripped into his skin and started tearing at the flesh.

All this happened in the time span of five seconds.

Salmon looked over to see her boyfriend and long-time friend being eaten alive. Screaming, she focused on attacking those around him, and Jake and Jasmine started doing the same. When they finally unburied him, he was beginning to turn. His girlfriend screamed and fell to her knees beside him.

"Kill me!" he shouted, just as Jake killed the last one of the horde. Salmon shook her head, sobbing. "Please, I don't want to be one of them and hurt you!" his voice became raspy as his eyes were slowly turning milky-white. Jasmine and Jake exchanged glances, and Jake stepped forward. Salmon shouted at him to stop and not even try, placing herself in between them. What she didn't know was he was already gone.

The zombified-Alex lurched forward, trying to bite his former girlfriend. Seeing this, Jasmine moved quickly and pushed Salmon away, giving Jake enough time to decapitate the teen. Salmon screamed and cried into Jasmine's white turtleneck sweater.

There is no time for grieving in the zombie apocalypse. Jasmine easily lifted Salmon over her shoulder, and they made their way as they heard another horde approaching.

* * *

Jodie had finally stopped crying, but still spoke to no one. It wasn't fair. Why him and not her? She was bit, why did she not die? She asked this out loud by accident a while ago and received an unsatisfying, logical answer from Rick. She didn't want logical. She wanted Michael.

Two hours earlier, Rick silently grabbed Michael's body and was about to take him outside. Jodie grabbed his arm with a surprising amount of strength, which almost broke his wrist, and interrogated him. He explained they could not keep him in there, for it would only stress her further. After promising to bury him, Jodie reluctantly let him go.

Now she was here, all alone—or so it felt—and she didn't even get to know him. First, she was angry for all the times he would keep her out. Now, she was almost glad he did. But she still wishes she never heard those words. It'd be easier to move on if she hadn't.

Those three fucking words.

Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a buzzing noise that made the three of them jump.

"What the hell is that?!" Maja exclaimed, looking around the room. Rick pulled out of one of his many pockets a small hand-held radio with a surprised expression.

"There's a signal", he observed. He turned away from the girls and talked into the radio, asking if anyone was there. They waited for a couple minutes before the crackling turned into a man's voice.

"This is the BSAA, rescuing survivors in Tervu, Washington, do you copy?"

"Yes, sir, we copy. We are holed up at Eileen Hill Hospital and require immediate assistance." Rick spoke back. They waited again.

" have a rescue chopper that will land on the roof in ten minutes. Over." They almost didn't believe their ears. Rescue was actually coming! Rick grabbed his pistol and handed his trusty sniper to Jodie without a word. Then, he carefully lifted the younger girl up with her arm around his neck. She whimpered slightly, but was able to stand and even put minimal weight on it. Leaving immediately, they headed toward the elevator.

"Wait, the elevator doesn't work." Jodie told him, but Rick shook his head.

"I was able to turn on an emergency generator to get it started up again." He explained. They arrived at the elevator and Rick slammed his fist against the ROOF button. The doors slid closed and the elevator began to move.

"We're going to really make it!" Maja shrieked with joy, almost losing her balance and having to lean against Rick. Jodie nodded solemnly, staring at the doors and waiting for them to open. As they neared the top, the three tensed, waiting for an ambush. The elevator stopped, but when the doors opened, nothing came. Sighing with relief, they ran out onto the roof. No infected in sight. Rick set Maja down and stepped up onto a block, straining to see their rescue. Jodie felt uneasy, a strange sense coming over her that something was coming.

The sense proved true, for an entire horde was calling out like a werewolf on a full moon, and were scaling the buildings and climbing the stairs to reach them. Rick started to curse and jumped down, standing close to the disabled girl. Jodie wasn't too knowledgeable about the gun she was holding, but once she looked through the scope, it was like she grew up learning about this weapon. Her instincts kicked in and she started to snipe those that were coming, while Rick took care of those she missed. The plan seemed to work for a short while, until the roof became overrun and there were too many. The circle around them became tighter, and Jodie wasn't even using the scope anymore. Rick was focusing more on hand-to-hand, conserving his low pistol ammo.

The time spent fighting them off passed too slowly for them, but eventually the helicopter was in sight. Over the radio, Rick could faintly hear the pilot claiming he couldn't land through the crowd. Thinking quickly, Rick grabbed Maja and shouted for Jodie to follow him. She did, running backwards and shooting at those coming from behind them. They ran towards the edge, but as they did, they heard a loud roar from a huge, muscular, rock-hard infected that made its way to them. The ground shook from under them every time it stepped down, making it difficult for them to navigate through the thick swarm of infected. Jodie made it first, hopping onto the hovering helicopter, and just after Rick handed Maja off to her while an agent covered them—the huge beast reached them and knocked Rick away. Ignoring the helicopter, the monster started towards Rick.

"Just go!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. Jodie was about to disagree, but the agent told them there was too many to help him. As the chopper flew away, Rick silently thought about Michael's request, and that it was fulfilled. Staring at the huge infected, Rick smirked.

* * *

There was no way any kind of home-worker could fix Lana's house. It was nearly demolished off its foundation. No longer serving protection, the four remaining decide it was time to pack what they can and leave. On foot, they would walk to the rim of the city to see if the gates were open, or at least scalable. If not, there were many houses that could serve them until those fell away too. Lana and Kenny took the back, both with sniper rifles. Fiona had taken the shotgun and was in front of Kenny and beside Derik (much to his displeasure). Derik held a machinegun, while wondering why and how Lana was able to get this gun without breaking some sort of law. They wandered the streets, eyes keen on hearing the sounds of the infected.

All four tense when they begin to hear the shouts and growls, and go back to back to face the demons. They start off doing well, until Fiona cowers as the infected grew closer, and broke formation. She runs, trying to save herself. Derik curses, and runs to catch up, shooting those trying to get to her. Kenny and Lana follow slowly, trying to ward them off with punches and pushes. Derik aims at those surrounding the pregnant woman, the only reason why he's even helping the bitch is for the innocent babe she carried. Even Omar would have done the same.

Of course, trying to protect her, Derik doesn't hear one come up and take a chunk out of his neck. He screams in dear agony and falls to his hands and knees. The infection began to spread, his body taking the form of a cocoon. Fiona screams as she watches the man transform into one of those beings. Thinning the crowd finally, Lana and Kenny look to Fiona and demand where Derik was. She glances at the cocoon, which looks as if it would burst, and their hearts sink to the bottom of their chests.

"Derik…" Lana whispered.

"Hey!" they turn sharply to find men dressed in cameo with BSAA insignias. In the front, the captain, Chris Redfield.

"Chris?" Kenny called, smiling the brightest in a while. Lana glanced from Kenny to the other man in wonder, but didn't ask.

"Kenneth?" Chris asked, as if he might have been imagining him. "What are you doing here?"

"I was taking my…erm…break…" he clarified, and the man shook his head.

"I guess the war with these things are never over…"

"I'm right there with you, captain." Kenny agreed, but the men were both glad to see each other—and not in that kind of way (both are very hetero). Chris looked behind his ex-agent, and saw the cocoon open and an ogre-like infected broke free.

"Move!" he ordered, and the three turned and backed away from the creature that was once Derik. The squad began to shoot at it, including the other three, but the bullets barely grazed its skin and only made it angry. It roared and charged at them, but its slow movements gave them enough time to side-step it. "Let's get out of here!"

The three full out ran toward the evacuation point, Chris and his team shooting at the beast behind them. It chased them all the way to the helicopters, but luckily they called ahead to get them started and were off the ground before it could reach them. Lana looked back at the saddened creature, and couldn't help but shed a tear for the boy who had an entire life ahead of him that was now taken away. Sitting beside her, Kenny watched her closely, and draped an arm around her shoulders. This time, she didn't shy away or tell him to stop, and leaned in close for comfort. At least they were finally out.

**A/N: WHAAAT?! ANOTHER CHAPTER?! Well I felt bad for such a late chapter last week so I decided to give you TWOOO new chapters! So far, we have what, two absolutely dead, one maybe dead, and five escapees! But that's not all! There's still Salmon, Jake and Jasmine left! We probably have about two more chapters left, including an epilogue. To HectorLives, I am sorry I killed Derik. Especially after revealing he had a brother…SORRY! Fate is cruel…to the owner of Jodie (rebeccajoleneaumanwilson), Lana (roseimagine), and Kenny (Rebellion589), congratulations on surviving! I have loved playing your characters for the story! Now, I hope you guys stick around for the end and come back for the sequel! Thanks to all for reading!**


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